Born Free
by evilqueen13
Summary: Russia has a new boss and America gets invaded. So now Ivan, Alfred, and Gilbert are on the run to escape Russia, after Alfred catches up with his father and gets in touch with his Native American roots. They meet friends old and new on way
1. Prolouge

You know the drill, I don't own any these guys.

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short prologue

It's cold, so very fucking cold. The kind of cold that eats into your bones and drives you mad. No wonder Ivan is so batshit crazy, who wouldn't be after living centuries in this terrible cold.

The small room he has me in has no windows and no furniture; just a bed, pale yellow walls, and a small bathroom. There was a chair, but I smashed it over Ivan's head when I first got here. How long ago was that?

I don't know what day it is. I don't know how long I've been here. Days, weeks, months it's all the same. The only light is the bare bulb dangling from the ceiling, and the only sound I can hear is the unceasing howl of the wind outside.

I don't even know if it's day or night. It could be midnight. Maybe it is midnight, midnight on the west coast. Midnight in San Francisco, on the water front, with the stars flickering over the golden gate bridge. I wonder if the bridge is even still standing. I wonder if anything is still standing. I would scream but there's no point to it, my voice is already worn out from screaming.

Fucking Ivan, I swear to god I will find a way to kill you for this!

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Let me know if you think it's interesting enough to continue.

Short I know but it's just the beginning of a (hopefully) interesting tale. Please let me know of you like it or hate it or whatever. Thanks so much!


	2. Distant Drums

You know the drill, I don't own any these guys. This is short, the following chapters will be much longer. Let me know if you think it's interesting enough to continue.

So here we go….Distant Drums

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Alfred lay in bed staring at the damnable single light bulb hanging helplessly from the ceiling. Alfred would never admit it, but Ivan's plan was working. The gnawing cold was breaking him down very effectively. Alfred wanted nothing more than to sleep and not wake up again, but there was something restless that was tugging at the edges of his thoughts.

Alfred pretended not to notice the sound of the door being unlocked. Ivan entered the room slowly, pipe in hand tapping it against his palm as he surveyed his captive. Alfred didn't even bother to look at him. Ivan leaned over and spoke in a soft growl as he looked down on Alfred, "So, have you given up yet, or do you still need more time to…think?"

"I'm really getting tired of you asking me that." Alfred sneered dismissively as he looked into Ivan's unreadable eyes.

"Your people are still resisting, it's not much of a resistance though. We will kill the upstarts, but it would be easier if you give up maybe they won't have to die."

Alfred looked away turning his eyes back to the stupid light bulb, "Giving up just isn't my style, you know that Ivan."

Incensed at Alfred's reaction Ivan raised the pipe, "Your president is dead, your capitol is in ruins, I own you now. You are no longer a nation! You are mine!"

Alfred gave a dry laugh he knew he was going to be beaten for this but he just couldn't stop himself, "Fuck you."

At that, Alfred was met with the feel of that cursed metal pipe connecting with the side of his skull and instant darkness.

Ivan looked at Alfred's bruised face and frowned. With a gentle hand, he brushed the side of Alfred's face he had just hit, "Such a stubborn stupid man. I'm trying to save you. You have no idea what they have planed for you if you don't give up soon, it will be so much worse than this."

As Alfred lay unconscious, he dreamed. He dreamed he was miles away from his tiny prison, back in his own land. The vast grassy plains stretched out before him ending only at the impossibly blue sky. This was where his heart beat strongest, this was were he belonged, and that's when he heard them. The distant drums. The rhythmic thrumming of animal skin, wood, and bone and the voices. Alfred closed his eyes and smelled the air as he listened to the chanting voices singing the old songs. They were faint and incomprehensible at first, but slowly the ice of countless years forgetfulness melted away and the words started to make sense. He knew these songs; he knew these words, he remembered.

Alfred remembered he was born the bastard child of a wild land, born with no ruler, no law, and no love.

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Thank you readers. For the time you spent on this. I only hope it was worth it for you.

So just what was Alfred's story before Arthur took him in? That's the next chapter. Find out why Alfred's real dad wanted him D E A D from the moment he first laid eyes on the child and how little Alfred managed to survive.

If you like it, let me know.


	3. Father Nation

Okay, class time readers. Here are a few words you should know for this chapter. Don't worry I'm not gonna' spring a pop quiz on you.

Lakota language Vocab.

Onsila - poor thing

Oyate - Nation

Áte – father

Tunwicu- Aunt

Cinsi – son

wiyan wakan – holy woman

Okay now lets meet a dad who has an important lesson to learn about the pitfalls of absentee parenting.

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Father Nation

Oyate was a proud nation; a child of the land that watched over his people for as long as he could remember. Generation after generation undisrupted, some say it was over 10,000 years before something miraculous happened. When news that another child of the land had been born Oyate was curious. The chance to have another like himself by his side was an interesting idea, but nothing like this had ever happened before. A child born of the land, Oyate's land, he wondered what this meant for him and his people.

Oyate sought out the child and when first laid eyes on America, he was horrified. The child had hair like the wild winter grasslands and eyes the color of the deep blue sky. He looked like them, the strangers settling on the eastern shore. Oyate knew that the child was a sign of things to come; it was a future he did not accept.

He decided the child must be killed before he got to big. Oyate knew that nations like himself did not die like humans did, so he took the child to the Wiyan Wakan to see if she knew of a way to kill the child. She assured Oyate that she there was a way to do so, but the magic was very old and she would have to travel to find all the pieces of the spell. Oyate, wanting nothing to do with the child, left America with her. The Wiyan Wakan was not a very old woman and she had no children of her own, when she looked at the baby and took pity on him. She knew she could not bring herself to carry out the cruel sentence. She took the child she called Onsila and traveled with him, hoping to hide the lie that she was not looking for a way to kill America.

Together they traveled throughout the land, visiting the sacred places. The Wiyan Wakan taught America everything she could about the old magic and the ways of the land. America grew up traveling by her side. He loved traveling, only growing restless when they stayed in one spot for too long. He called the Wiyan Wakan, Tunwicu but America loved her like a mother. She was always gentle and encouraging to the young nation, so he did what could to learn everything she taught him.

It was several years later when Oyate caught up with them. They were camped beside the banks of the Rio Grand River. Oyate demanded to know why America was still alive. Tunwicu knew she could not lie to her nation any longer and admitted that she had come to love the child like her own. America was outside playing near the river when he heard the scream. He rushed into the camp to find Tinwicu lying dead and Oyate standing over her with a bloody hatchet in his hand. America rushed to her side and tried to wake her up.

Oyate was terrified at how much the child had grown. America looked up at Oyate, who swung his hatchet in an attempt to slay the child, but America caught it with his ridiculous strength, stopping the blade with his tiny hands. Oyate backed away startled by the child's strength.

"Why did you kill her?" America cried angrily, they were the first words the boy ever said to his father. Oyate did not answer, he just stood staring at the trembling by before him. "WHY!" Alfred demanded with tears streaming down his face.

"You morn the death of one person, when you are supposed to be a nation of many? If it is for the greater good of the nation, killing is necessary; you will never be a great nation if you don't learn that."

"You're wrong!", the child shook with rage as the tears continued to run unheeded down his face.

"That is the way…."

"NO!" America roared, "That's not true!"

"It is true child. Like it or not."

Oyate steeped forward menacingly, but the child held his ground defiantly and yelled as loud as he could, "It doesn't have to be that way! If it is true then I will change it! I will be strong and I will protect everybody, I will make a place where everybody is safe. I will be, I will be…" America struggled to find the right word

"What will you be child?" Oyate challenged.

Oyate looked into those fierce blue eyes that seemed to look right through him as the boy covered in the blood of his guardian, pulled himself up to his full height, "A hero."

Oyate said nothing, he turned and left the camp without another word, leaving behind America to live and grow on his own. It was a decision he came to regret terribly.

The child did grow and he was strong and father and son met, again and again, on the battle field. Neither one cared to remember just how many years of bitter battles and bloodshed they waged against each other. Each time Oyate was beaten back a little further by the son he never loved, until the day there was no where left to go. By that time Oyate was a ragged old man. He looked in to America, no Alfred's face, and saw the same look of anger he saw on that blood stained child from so long ago, but when it came time for Alfred to strike the final blow, it never came. Alfred walked away leaving his father to pick up the pieces, just as he had done to Alfred so many years ago.

It was over, Oyate had been defeated. He should have just faded into obscurity, but that didn't happen. Father and son grudgingly came to a truce. Alfred helped his father form his own government and set aside some of the wild places for him to continue on as a Nation. He was still nothing more than a ghost of his former empire, but Alfred that made sure the old man didn't disappear completely.

As the years passed, the two of them had spent a long time healing the old wounds. The old man and the son he never loved, came to understand and respect each other slowly over the years.

Alfred finally awoke with a start. His eyes wide, as he gasped for breath. He looked around at the dim surroundings and listened to the baleful cry of the wind, the howling seemed much louder much more like wolves in his dreams. Alfred remembered wolves, and rattle snakes, and wildcats. Alfred remembered a lot of things. He got up and began to pace like a caged animal. His mind was buzzing with a million new pieces of information. He felt like he was on fire.

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Alfred needs some fatherly advice and he's about to get it in the next chapter thanks to a visit by the old man himself. Send Ivan some aspirin because he's going to have a headache roughly the size of North America soon.


	4. father son chat

Names are from the Lakota language

Oyate - Nation

Áte – father

Cinsi – son

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Alfred felt like a fire was burning inside him driving him mad wanted to fight, to yell, to run, he took off his shirt. It was a struggle to keep his mind calm enough to not scream. All he knew was that he couldn't stay here, this wasn't a good place for him. He needed to get out he needed to see the sky. His eye caught the glint of a single item Ivan had neglected to remove from Alfred's cell. It was a little crystal ballerina sitting on a small shelf above the door. Ivan must have forgotten it when he cleaned out the room. It was covered in thick layer of dust; it looked like centuries of dust. Alfred studied it he wanted to send a message to Ivan in a way that would really hit home.

Alfred grabbed the crystal figure and smashed it, little diamonds skittered in every direction. He picked up the jagged based and admired the sharp edges. If Ivan wanted an answer from him, Alfred would be happy to oblige, but wasn't going to be the answer Ivan was looking for.

Alfred cut his arm letting the blood run and with it he smeared his answer onto the wall with his hands in huge red letters. He looked at what he wrote and chuckled to himself, both a promise and a dare.

The wind raged again but this time there was a distinct high pitched yip yip yip. Alfred paused, the wind didn't just sound like wolves there were wolves out there. It sounded a chorus of wolves, no an army of wolves. Alfred could see them in his mind, heads back throwing their souls to the wind. That's when the old magic Tunwicu had taught him came back to him. The blood on his hands now decorated his face, in the bathroom mirror. He looked at the markings, he saw his father's face.

Alfred took his finger and with his own blood wrote the magic on the floor, the magic that would call his father. He drew two rings on the floor surrounded by the ancient markings of a forgotten past, forgotten until now. Alfred sat cross-legged in the first circle facing the second and closed his eyes and waited. A mist rose from the empty circle slowly snaking and swirling until it coalesced into a form of a man. The man sat emotionless like stone, his features that of a proud Native American Chief, but he looked a lot like Alfred leaving no doubt that this man was, Oyate.

Oyate took careful stock of the surroundings and his son sitting before him before he spoke. "Cinsi", he said softly surprised at the situation, "Your brothers are worried about you they want to know where you are."

"I highly doubt Juan's worried about me." Alfred scoffed.

"Trust me he is, everybody is worried about you."

Alfred's voice cracked with stress, "Dad I can't leave here. I'm trapped."

The man reached out and ran his hand over the bruise on Alfred's face. "Who did this?"

"My enemy."

"That same one that ravages our lands right now?"

Alfred nodded.

"You've started to remember yourself in this dark place, haven't you?"

"I remember a lot now."

"But fire that burns in you now is only a spark; we just need to fan the flames a bit."

Alfred sighed in frustration, "Dad, I no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't worry Cinsi. You've just been asleep for a long, long time. They have stripped you of everything, everything but your heart, but in doing so they cleared away the cobwebs for you. Right now you are as you were born, not bound by any laws, or bosses, you are free. Free to reclaim your lands with your own hands.

"Don't you mean free to rot in this stupid room?"

"Your people are remembering too just as you are. They too forgot what it meant to be a great nation. Don't underestimate them they will fight for their freedom. Now we just have to wake you up."

"We?"

"Some old friends want to help you. They will teach you the things…" Oyate closed his eyes as he struggled with the words. "…you should have learned from me. Are you ready, Cinsi?"

"Yes"

"The scar your spirit animal gives you, can only be seen by those close to you, but you will bare that scar for the rest of your existence, are you ready for that."

Alfred eyes focused on the scars across his father's upper left arm, how did he not see those before? He looked into his father's eyes determined to continue, "Yes."

"Yes, I think you are." Oyate's eyes softened as he stood up and put his hand on Alfred's shoulder. "The way I treated you when you were small was my greatest mistake. I was such a fool."

"So was I dad, so was I", Alfred choked again trying to not break down.

Oyate stood to the side as the mist began to rise and swirl again this time animals became visible. One by one they came, pale forms of the spirit animals. The rattlesnake, Grizzly bear, fox, rabbit, stoat, wolverine, mountain goat, wolf, coyote, and cougar every animal that ever roamed North America during the old magic days came from the mist.

A bald eagle perched in the buffalo's head; it spread its great wings and hoped onto Alfred's shoulder. Alfred was surprised he could feel its claws and its weight. He scratched the bird's feathery head as the bird leaned into his touch. Oyate's spirit animal, the wolf came and sat by Oyate's side. The bird hopped off of Alfred as Oyate took out a small leather bag and dumped the contents onto the floor, they were bones. As they hit the floor loud roar of a mountain lion sounded as the animal leapt from the pack to stand in front of Alfred. It snarled angrily, Alfred sat calmly on the floor letting the animal circle him as it snarled. The Cougar walked up and sniffed Alfred then with a swipe of its paw it raked its sharp claws across Alfred's chest, Alfred hissed and gritted his teeth with the pain as blood ran down his chest. The cougar took a few steps back and leapt at Alfred and disappeared as it connected with him. Then all the animals piled forth and seemed to disappear into Alfred's body.

Alfred's dad stood up over his son and touched his forehead, I'm sorry I've never actually told you this before Alfred. I am very proud of you"

Alfred's eyes went wide I shock as he whispered back, "Thank you áte."

And with that the old man vanished in a puff. Alfred collapsed too exhausted from the effort to stay awake any longer.

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So, Now what, Ivan gets the full on American Indian experience that's what. What's worse is the mansion in the mountains is completely snowed in so there's really no escape for either one of them. We also get some hints on the mysterious, them, who Ivan's hiding Alfred from.

Thank you to all those who took the time to review, I know I suck at this but I thank you for the time you spent on this with me.


	5. Awake

Awake

Ivan listened carefully to the door to Alfred's room for any signs of life. He hadn't checked up on Alfred for over a day. Upon hearing nothing, he unlocked the door and peeked inside, the sight he was met with made his blood run cold. The pipe slid from his gloved hand and clattered against wooden floor at his feet. Ivan couldn't believe his eyes. Alfred lying on the floor, covered in blood.

Ivan stepped into the room and slowly made his way over to Alfred's prone form. His mind reeled as he tried to figure out what happened. Did he try to kill himself? No, even Alfred would know that death was not possible that way, but why would he hurt himself like this?

Ivan grunted in disgust as he bent over and rolled Alfred onto his back. It looked like he had been mauled by a bear, how did he get these deep scratches on his chest? It didn't look like something he could have done to himself. He lifted Alfred's eyelid and paled when he saw not the bright blue he was used to, but the tawny gold of a wild cat. Ivan jumped back as if burned. What the hell was going on, he checked Alfred's eye again and found nothing but the normal bright blue he was used to. Okay, that was…strange. Maybe he just needed more vodka; it had been like two whole hours since he last had a drink after all.

Ivan gathered up Alfred and put him in the bed before turning his attention to the blood on the floor. Ivan scraped his shoe across the markings as he tried to make sense of what they could be. They looked a bit like the druid rubbish Arthur dabbled in, but the characters were nothing like he had ever seen before. Had Alfred tried to contact England somehow? If that was the case, it looked like the effort had been a failure. It looked more like he had summoned a monster and was attacked by it.

Ivan began to wonder if maybe his plan was working, yes Alfred must be cracking under the stress of his confinement. Ivan was hopeful, he knew the clock was ticking, and eventually they would be found. He had figured Alfred was going to be difficult, but he had hoped to have succeeded by now. No doubt they were searching all of Ivan's old haunts, but Ivan was lucky to find this place; an abandoned relic from the time of the Czars. The place disgusted him, he could still hear the dim echo of the cries, and the faint sting of pain from those horrible days. But Ivan knew it was for that very reason, which made this place one of the last places they would come looking for him.

Ivan's train of thought was disrupted when Ivan finally noticed something on the wall. It was the message Alfred had left for him. The bold bloody letters leered at him from the shadows against the dingy yellow walls, "Give me liberty or give me death." Ivan felt a chill run up his spine. "Damn you Alfred." Ivan yelled in exasperation.

…

Ivan had finished cleaning the blood off of Alfred and bandaging his wounds, he still could not figure out how Alfred had managed the chest wounds. But that didn't really matter now; he needed to get Alfred to behave for his masters before it was too late. He had taken to checking in on Alfred every few hours. There had to be a way to get Alfred to give up and become one with Russia. If he didn't, well Ivan didn't plan on failure. He would do it, somehow.

It was nearly a day after Ivan's gruesome discovery when he entered the room expecting to see Alfred in the bed, only to find it, and the rest of the room, empty.

"Alfred?" Alfred was no where in sight. It wasn't like there was any place to hide. Ivan checked the bathroom, it was empty. Maybe he tunneled out like a rat? Ivan didn't notice anything out of order in the room so he started to check more closely. Then he heard a noise, a low growl emanating from the bathroom, it sounded kind of like a tiger only more high pitched, a small tiger? Fear began to prickle in Ivan's mind lacking any rational explanation, irrational ideas started to form. Maybe something got in the room somehow, that would explain the scratches on Alfred's chest. Maybe Alfred managed to call something up with those circles on the floor and it came back and ate him. With his pipe ready, he started to scan every corner of the room.

Just as he entered the bathroom to do a more thorough check, Boom! Something akin to a ton of bricks landed on top of him. With an 'oof' Ivan landed face first on the ground. He swung the pipe in an attempt to hit whatever was on his back. He felt it thud against something, and he heard a painful grunt. Feeling the pressure on his back lighten slightly, Ivan pushed up and scrambled to his feet, ready to attack and, nothing… there was, no one in the room. The only sound was the slow shrill creaking of the open door settling on its hinges.

Crap.

Ivan rushed out of the room, hoping to see which way Alfred went to only to find an empty, silent hallway. The old place was modest for a Czar's abode which meant it was about the size of a small city, but Ivan still had the home court advantage.

Ivan began to pick his way down the hallway checking the rooms on his way, Alfred couldn't have gotten far so fast. He must be hiding nearby.

Ivan heard the low growl again. "Alfred? Are you trying to attack my back again, that's very unhero-like of you. Why don't you come out and face me."

Ivan opened the door to another empty room and out of seemingly no where Alfred barreled into Ivan like a semi truck. Ivan tried to use his pipe to block but Alfred grabbed onto it and pushed into his neck, pinning Ivan against the hallway wall. It took all of Ivan's strength to keep the pipe from crushing his windpipe. "Well hello Ivan, did you get my message?" Alfred hissed dangerously in his ear.

Ivan continued to try to push the pipe away from his neck, "Alfred. I see you are feeling well. Why don't you get off of me now."

Alfred gave Ivan a wicked smile, "Oh I don't think I can do that right now. I have a bit of a score to settle with you, asshole."

The pipe was starting to hurt, as the pressure dug into his neck. Ivan took a few deep breaths and with everything he had pushed Alfred off of him. Alfred staggered but recovered quickly, and looked Ivan dead in the eyes. Fear began to prickle at the edges of Ivan's thoughts as he realized something was very different about Alfred, this was not the same doughy marshmallow he was used to, there was nothing funny or childlike about those eyes anymore. Alfred's whole body now seemed to gleam dangerously like the sharp edge of a knife.

The words of Isoroku Yamamoto echoed in the back of Ivan's head," "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

This was not good.

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Did you like it? Is it any good? Let me know.


	6. Trapped

Trapped

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Ivan gave Alfred a lop-sided smile; out of all the nations Alfred always was the best rival, or at least the most fun. But Ivan wasn't going to lose to an unarmed opponent, especially one who had already been conquered, Alfred didn't stand a chance.

Ivan rushed at Alfred swinging the pipe managed to hit, nothing. When did Alfred get so fast? He turned towards a darting shadow in the corner of his eye and in an instant he found himself on the floor, again. For Ivan, it was like wrestling with a wild animal. He couldn't seem to get a grip on any part of Alfred it was like trying to fight a ghost, a ghost with a really good left hook. Ivan's pipe was pretty much useless in close combat and actually became more of a hindrance as he now had to work to keep it out of Alfred's hands. Alfred managed to get on top and punched Ivan in the head a few times before wrenching the pipe from Ivan's grip. Ivan wrapped his hands around Alfred's neck, but before Ivan could bear down, Alfred whacked him in the head… with his own pipe.

Ow.

Alfred looked down at the now unconscious Ivan wondering what he should do next. He was a little bewildered that the fight was over so quickly. Figuring escape was the best plan of action Alfred went to find an exit and get away before Ivan woke up.

The old palace was huge with long halls of seemingly endless rooms littered with chipped paint and faded glory. It looked like it hadn't been used in some time. The wood floors were dry and cracked from neglect covered with faded thread bear red rug runners. Somebody had had the place wired with electricity; the fixtures were cheap looking against the grand thick intricate woodwork of the door frames.

The place reminded Alfred of the hotel in "The Shining". He chuckled to himself before remembering how bad that movie scared the crap out of him. "Geeze, Ivan you can sure pick a palace can't you." He muttered to himself, hoping that he was the scariest thing in this old place, Alfred did his best Jack Nicholson imitation, "All work and no play makes Alfred a dull boy." Surprisingly, even to Alfred, his imitation was spot on… that was new.

By the time Alfred made it to the kitchen he had managed to work himself up enough that he half expected to see the bloody twins from the movie pop out at every new turn. Luckily for him it was just the empty kitchen, no twins. Alfred couldn't help but notice it appeared to have been recently renovated; but so much was left undone it was like only the essentials were hooked up and the rest was left to continue to rot. A few shiny new appliances stuck out horribly along side the old hearth and rotting woodwork. It looked more like Ivan was either in the process of restoring the old mansion, or just holed up in the place temporarily. Alfred shrugged it off as he had just found what he was looking for, a door, a way out of here and away from Ivan, freedom! He opened it, ready to run and found a wall of snow. The place was completely snowed in.

Ivan was just coming around when he heard a disparaging wail of frustration followed by a _very_ long string of obscenities, echo through the house. Figuring Alfred was going to be in no mood to talk, he made a dash for his room and bolted the door behind him.

Ivan checked his pocket for the cell phone, the only escape from the house; he thought about making the call for a second, but changed his mind. No he could do this, he just had to tell Alfred the truth and get him to believe it, somehow.

Ivan, thinking it was best to let Alfred calm down, decided to stay in his room for a bit.

He was still mulling over what he was going to do about the situation at hand when he suddenly noticed what sounded like the door knob rattling ever so slightly. Ivan tried to focus on the door intently for any signs of movement. He swore moved again every so slightly. The unfamiliar feeling of fear began to gnaw at him slowing down his thoughts with icy panic. Seconds went by Ivan didn't even realize he was holding his breath, the pressing urge to breath again warred with his desire to remain perfectly silent. After a few moments of complete silence Ivan relaxed a bit, he was just being paranoid. But then he saw it, a shift in the shadows in the crack at the base of the door.

"Alfred?" Ivan whispered.

No answer.

"Alfred I know you're there. We need to talk."

Still no answer. Ivan was starting to think his mind was just playing tricks on him. Then finally Alfred spoke as if talking to a child, "Ivan I have your stupid pipe don't you want to come out and get it."

"….nyet. I do not wish to be hit with it again, we need to talk not fight."

"But Ivan dude" Alfred whined, "I still have to repay you for what you did to my country and President Rayner! You're not being very fair here."

"I did not have any choice in the attack on your country that was Mikhaylovich. He how do you say? Does not have the people's best interests at heart." Ivan finished hopefully.

"Oh don't tell me you've managed to put another despot in charge. What the fuck with you do you just look for the craziest mo-fo you can find and make him the leader?"

"Nyet"

"Nyet my ass, mother fucker! You going to come out so I can wrap this stupid pipe around your freaking neck or what?"

"Alfred, the reason for the string of blood thirsty leaders, and why you were invaded and brought here, I need to explain all of it to you." Ivan listened to the door hearing nothing again, Alfred must bet thinking. Ivan rolled his eyes at the thought, Alfred and thinking two things that did not go together. He tried a different approach, "I have Texas. You would like your glasses back, yes?"

"…yes. But what are you going to do, face me or slip them under the door?"

"Can we talk like civilized nations?"

Alfred snorted, "Pish, I like how we're all civilized now that I'm the one holding the pipe. I'll listen to you, but if you lie to me I will hurt you."

Ivan opened the door and got ready to defend himself. But Alfred didn't charge. He just stood there glaring angrily before demanding, "Texas. Now."

"Yes", Ivan pulled the glasses from his pocket and handed them to Alfred, who snatched them up and inspected them before putting them on. Ivan watched him curiously, "So much fuss you seem to see fine without them."

"That's not the point, now is it. Scarf boy."

Ivan sat in a red plush chair next to a huge ornate mantle of a dark fireplace. He realized Alfred had gone missing turning to see him standing at the window he was surprised.

"How did you.."

"It's a little trick I picked up from Cougar." Alfred cut him off.

"Cougar? Did I hit you too hard maybe?"

"You wanted to talk, so talk already."

"Alfred, the history of my country has been plagued by a group called Chernyi Zvexdy as you would say 'Black Star' they have been plaguing me since their first leader Yackov Yurosky murdered the Romanovs. Do you remember why he killed them?"

Alfred thought about it he did remember something then it hit him," Oh yea, that was when France and England were ready to take advantage of me because I was messed up pretty bad from the Civil War, you sent the ships to San Francisco and New York to give them the message to stay outta my shit."

"I did not think you remembered when we were comrades, this is good. Since that time they have gone by other names I believe KGB is one you are familiar with?"

Alfred flinched at the mention of that name, "Yea, nice history lesson but what does this have to do with now?"

"Alfred, the Black Star have responsible for installing one cruel regime after another throughout my history. During Stalin's days they were looking for ways to control the people who were growing more restless by the day." Ivan began to remove his scarf revealing his horribly scared neck, "They found that by killing me, thousands of people died along with me. So in an attempt to stay in power, they killed me their own nation again and again."

Alfred's eyes grew wide as he had always wondered about the scars on Ivan's neck it didn't make sense for them to be from murdered leaders because it that were true France, England and most of Europe would be sporting scarves as well. Alfred cleared his throat, "That's horrible and all, but what's that got to do with me?"

"Everything."

* * *

Note time.

First "The Shining" By Steven King is SCARY. If you want to look it up on youtube you can but it's not for the faint of heart.

Second, I found out a lot about history when I did the research for this. Good Ole Yackov did indeed murder the Romanovs and it was in retaliation for saving the USA at a time when France and England were ready to take advantage of our little Civil War, they hoped to break the country up then pick the best pieces for themselves. Turns out it was Russia that stopped them from getting involved.

I am flying without a beta, here so if you see any really blatant errors please make sure to point them out for me. I can take criticism and actually listen and take it to heart so if you see something that's really bad, you would be a friend by pointing it out to me.

Next is Prussia in a helicopter, then there's the introduction of the legend of Pangaea, Canada shows up later as well. Oh yea and revolution and you know how much Alfred loves a good revolution! but the Black Star have something horrible planned that Ivan still knows nothing about.


	7. New Tricks

Note: Andrey Mikhaylovich is Ivan's new boss.

* * *

New tricks

* * *

"Everything? What the hell are you talking about Ivan?"

"Your skull is as thick as ever! Andrey has ordered the Black Stars to do the same thing to you in order to control your people." Ivan gave an exasperated sigh, "I have been hiding you here until I could convince you to become one with Russia so you wouldn't have to go through what I did!" Ivan didn't notice he had started clutching the arms of the chair so hard they began to crackle from the stress, his voice rising with the flood of dark memories, "Stalin had no problem using me as a tool to kill 60 million of his own people. He was a devil! Andrey is no better, if anything I think he's even more bloodthirsty. He will have no mercy when he gets his hands on you!"

Alfred shot Ivan a skeptical look," Do you mean to tell me that all this time you've been trying to save me?"

"Da" Ivan breathed, slowly regaining control.

"And you expect me to believe that?" Alfred asked as he leisurely paced the floor in thought.

"Yes, Alfred it is the truth." He puffed as he wondered if he was making through America's stupid.

Alfred set his jaw as he tried to control his anger and continued to pace slowly. Ivan had to be lying; there was no other explanation for it. But why did it feel like Ivan was telling the truth? "We pretty much hate each other, we've been at war with each other way longer than we've ever been allies, why the hell do you expect me to believe you would want to help me? Even since you brought me here, you've beaten the shit out of me! Several times!" He searched Ivan's eyes closely, watching for his reaction.

Ivan faltered with a childish smile playing across his face, "That was, how do you call it, tough love?"

Alfred felt his anger begin to boil but before he could react, Ivan's pocket began to play a tune. Ivan looked at it in horror, there was only one person in the world that had this number and if he was calling it was bad news. He tried to stand up and get away from Alfred before he could answer it but he was knocked to the ground chair and all by a blur of infuriated Alfred.

"Stop! Nyet!" Ivan yelled as he struggled to stop Alfred from getting the cell phone in his pocket. Alfred punched him, cutting his lip and stunning him enough to grab the phone from Ivan's pocket and answered it. To Ivan's horror not only did Alfred answer it in Russian, but in a perfect imitation of Ivan's own voice!

"_What do you want; I'm busy beating the tar out of that idiot American_!" Alfred spat into the phone.

Alfred listened to angry sputtering on the other end of the line before the caller finally was able to form comprehensible words, "You fucking bloody prick I understood every word you just said! I don't care how many nukes you have pointed at me I will personally come down there and…"

"Whoa Iggy stop, It's me, I'm okay." Alfred said as Ivan's eyes widened in surprise. There was no way anyone else was supposed to know this phone number.

There was a moment of silence before Arthur stammered, "...A-Alfred... Is it really you? Wha… are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm okay but what about you? What's this about nukes?" Alfred got off of Ivan, letting him get up off of the floor.

"Russia, or should I say Andrey, has aimed his arsenal of nuclear missiles toward the capitol of every nation on the blasted planet. They made damn sure that you weren't going to get any help. If anyone sets so much as a toe out of their countries to help, we risk getting blasted."

"How's my country holding up? Have you heard form Matty?" Alfred's voice was uncharacteristically hesitant.

"Alfred, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Arthur I'm okay. I'm a little worried about Matt. I think he might try something stupid, you know how he gets."

"I know how he gets; he gets the same way you do when something threatens him. Last I heard Mathew was fine, upset about your disappearance but fine. We haven't heard much from the past day or so since most of the communications between North America and the rest of the world were cut off. The last report we got was when all the sudden your people started fighting back, the entire country was in total chaos and there are reports of thousands of Russian soldiers defecting to help your side fight back. There have even been reports of animals actually joining battles; no one's ever seen anything like it. It's like the whole country went insane. After that, all communications went down; we are still trying to get the satellites back online. What happened?"

"Iggy, I'll give you a hint, remember this?" Alfred whispered in the phone a distant, forgotten cry from the past, "Hoka Hey." (1) And chuckled mischievously as he tossed the phone back to Ivan.

Ivan heard Arthur laughing darkly on the other end of the line, "Oh Ivan, you are in for it now old chap. Do you have any idea how long it took me to tame that little savage? Do you know what I went though in the process? He was actually more wildcat than child. I never did manage to tame him completely as you well know. I really hope you have plenty of bandages."

Ivan hung up the phone on the still laughing Arthur, muttering Russian curses as he quickly dialed the one number saved on the phone. As soon as the phone was answered Ivan snarled into it, "Gilbert you little shit, how did Arthur get this number?"

"Wow hey big guy, he was crying, dude. I've never heard a guy cry like that, it was totally not awesome if you know what I mean."

Ivan gave a heavy sigh, "Gilbert you know better than that. He cries every time he gets drunk."

"Listen Ivan, I've been hearing some things from my guys, they are starting to search close to your area, are you almost ready to go?"

"I'm not sure." Ivan looked around for Alfred, who was no where to be found, again.

"Well, I will call you back later when I get the latest report I should have it in the next hour or so."

Ivan got up and headed to the kitchen to grab an extra large bottle of vodka, and noticed the smell of coffee. He looked and found Alfred sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee he had just made. Ivan checked the refrigerator and sure enough, Alfred had already raided it and pretty much cleaned it out of everything accept a jar of mustard and a half of a jar of pickles. Ivan looked at Alfred both amazed and a little disturbed.

Alfred didn't even try to look guilty, "What? War takes a lot out of a guy ya know?"

Ivan then popped the top on the vodka and took a hit straight from the bottle. When he finished he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and asked, "So, how did you get so good at impressions?"

"Oh, that's something from Raven_. Isn't it cool da?"_ he finished in Ivan's voice, causing Ivan to shudder at the sound of how perfect it was.

"Raven? Never mind that, I thought you didn't know any Russian?"

"I don't, well not much really. We've been fighting for how many years now? I picked up a bit, mostly the curse words from you, but I seem to know a bit more than normal lately, it probably has something to do with all the new Russian citizens I've been taking on recently." Alfred added with conspiratorial smirk.

Ivan didn't want to say it out loud but he figured it probably had more to do with the fact that at the moment, Alfred was technically a part of Russia, but he didn't see the need to point that out at the moment. Alfred would come to realize it soon enough on his own.

Alfred took another sip of coffee, "So what do we have to do to get out of here, because I know you wouldn't be stuck here without a means of escape."

Ivan gave Alfred a sinister laugh, deciding to push Alfred a bit to see where it went, "There is no escape."

Alfred raised his eyebrows as he stared at Ivan curiously, "You're lying!"

"Am I, what makes you so sure?"

"I can tell." Alfred wondered at his discovery, "I can feel it."

"So now you can feel lies and who taught you that? Wait let me guess, your new friend snail?

"No" Alfred answered seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in Ivan's tone, "This is Coyote's thing."

"What? Is this anything like Arthur's little invisible things? Did I hit you too hard maybe?"

"No, they aren't imaginary friends, they're spirit animals. Ya know, I just realized if it wasn't for small pox and guns my dad would have totally kicked my ass when I was a kid." Alfred pondered aloud as he finished his coffee.

"Arthur?"

Alfred banged the empty cup down on the table, "HA HA Ivan, Arthur isn't my dad."

Ivan sat down at the table as Alfred explained the story. He listened to Alfred recount his childhood and his father's attempt to murder him. It shed a lot of light on why Alfred was sometimes an ass, well sort of anyway. From the very beginning nobody expected the nation to amount to anything. Why he fought so hard for his right to be a nation and for what he believed in. He had managed to prove the world wrong and managed to carve his place in it with his own hands. Too bad it was over for him now. He would belong to Russia unless he found a way to win his freedom back. Ivan was sure that if Mikhaylovich had his way, he would nuke the entire country into a wasteland before losing control of the U.S.

Ivan's phone rang again, it was Gilbert. This time Alfred let Ivan answer it himself, though Ivan noticed Alfred was listening closely. Ivan made no attempt to hide the conversation. "Hey Ivan, things have gotten bad. Your plan of facing Andrey with your new puppy isn't going to work; too many of your people are defecting and revolting. There's no way either of you can show your face in Moscow. Andrey's put a huge price on both your heads, you are to be shot on sight and your bodies brought back to the capitol." Ivan hissed in disgust as Gilbert continued. "My guys on the inside also told me that something big is going on. There's talk of another one of their 'glorious breakthroughs'. We couldn't find out what it is, but whatever it is you know it's not good. I think you would be safer if you both left the country immediately. The further away, the better."

Alfred went tense as he stared into Ivan's eyes trying desperately to hide his excitement at the prospect. It sounded too good to be true. Ivan looked at him questioningly, and Alfred just gave a slight silent nod in acknowledgment.

"Okay Gilbert, I know you have been waiting for this, come get us." Ivan held the phone away from his ear and sure enough an earsplitting yell resounded from the receiver before the phone went dead.

"So how is Gilbert supposed to rescue us and why is he so excited about it?"

"Gilbert isn't far from here he's been waiting to come get us. The only way out of here is either by snow vehicle, or helicopter."

"You gave Gilbert a helicopter?"

"Da."

"Why Gilbert?"

"He's not actually a nation so they haven't been watching him, plus he is a trusted friend to both of us, yes? Not to mention he has a spy in the Black Stars so he's been giving me information on what's going on."

Alfred laughed he was positively giddy at the thought, "You gave that awesome little freak a helicopter!" Alfred's eyes had that child-like gleam back as he laughed again and in a mock conspiratorial voice he spouted, "That plan's so crazy, it just might work!"

* * *

1. Hoka Hey = this is the rumored battle cry of Crazy Horse. It has several supposed meanings. It makes for a fun battle cry, and every hero needs a good battle cry, right?

And a big THANK YOU to my beta yaoiforever666 who helped me with this. Your the best! XD


	8. Flight of the Gilbird2

Flight of the Gilbird2

* * *

"If you are thorough with your fit, Alfred we need to get ready." Ivan said as he stood up.

"Bring it commie. I can't wait to get out of this creepy place."

Ivan brought out warm clothes and coats for both of them as well as boots gloves and other necessities. "Gilbert will have the weapons and gear we will need on the helicopter. Get dressed we need to get to the roof."

Alfred ducked into one of the empty rooms to change. He wasn't going to argue about the clothing but he did mentally cringe when he noticed that what he was now wearing looked a lot like Ivan's clothes in different shades. But it didn't matter to him, he just wanted to get out of this prison. He didn't care if he went naked, just the thought of being _out_ was all he needed. Alfred's mind was full of blue skies and fresh air when Ivan brought him out of his thoughts.

"Alfred, are you ready?" came Ivan's voice from the other side of the door, "Knowing Gilbert, he probably be here sooner than expected."

Alfred put on the coat and stepped out of the room. Ivan's eyebrows went up and his heart skipped a beat. He had to resist the urge to touch Alfred. After years of seeing him in the ridiculous bomber jacket, now for the first time Alfred looked positively Russian! For Ivan it was like a dream come true.

Alfred caught the strange look Ivan was giving him, "Dude, stop staring. I'm only wearing this because I don't feel like freezing solid in this Popsicle you call a country." Alfred said backing out of arms reach. "Hey by the way, where are we going anyway?"

"We are heading south to Kazakhstan. Erik Krumangaliev is the nation there, he is very terrified of Andrey and will not help us, so from there we will have to sneak into China. Then we will contact Yao. He will be able to help us from there."

"Yao? Is he working with you too?"

"No, he's not working with us. He does not know we are coming yet, and it is not safe to try to make contact outside of the country. International calls are easily traced, but don't worry Alfred he will be very happy to see you, as for me, well… not so much." Ivan's voice trailed off.

"Why?"

"Alfred you are his ally. To say the other nations are not happy with me is what you would call, an understatement. Yao and all the other nations have all been trying to find you since you disappeared."

Alfred gave an indignant snort as he rolled his eyes, "You mean since you imprisoned me, right?"

Ivan closed the distance grabbing the front of Alfred's coat insistently looking down on the shorter nation, "I did what I had to do, if I hadn't you would be in their hands right now wishing for your death!"

Their conversation was interrupted as the sound of a helicopter began to drone overhead. Alfred and Ivan made their way to the roof. As soon As Alfred emerged from the building it was like a huge weight was instantly lifted off of him, he couldn't help but smile as he felt the sun on his face. The sun sat high in a perfectly blue clear sky above them. The world was awash in brilliant white and blue as the sun reflected off of the snow; shining so bright it hurt to look at it. Even the air smelt fresh and hopeful in contrast to the rotting grave of a palace now below them. The only thing that could have made this moment better for Alfred would be if he had wings. He looked off into the distance. The land around the mountains bore the tawny golds, browns, and grays of land suffering through the rag tag end of winter.

The snow kicked up and swirled as Gilbert lowered the helicopter onto the pad. Ivan saw the look blazing in Alfred's eyes, both child-like and feral at the same time. This was the heart and spirit that wound Ivan up and soothed him all at the same time. Ivan wondered if this Alfred would survive being a part of Russia, he hoped so.

Donning their helmets, they took off into the endless blue with Alfred hanging out of the side of the Gilbird2 shouting excitedly.

"So you guys cool now?" Gilbert said into his helmet's microphone as Alfred finally decided to close the door.

Ivan and Alfred both looked at each other and shrugged, was this okay? Alfred wasn't sure, "I guess so, as long as he doesn't hit me with that stupid pipe anymore."

"Good enough Da." Ivan agreed.

Gilbert gave a loud groan, "Geeze Ivan, what did I tell you about the pipe?"

Ivan gave a smile that was both sheepish and evil at the same time, "The pipe isn't an acceptable tool for making friends or political negotiations." Ivan recited like a child recites the lunch room rules after a food fight.

Alfred just looked at him incredulously but decided against starting an argument at the moment, "Hey how come we don't just go east and head through Alaska?" Alfred tried hopefully.

Gilbert shook his head, "Are you kidding? Across that wilderness, even if we could find the gas somehow it would be impossible. Only a complete lunatic would even think to try it."

"Well" Alfred countered, "It's not like there are helicopter fueling stations all over Kazakhstan either."

"I have a supply line already arranged. We can't travel the whole way in this thing no matter how much I would like to. We will hit our stop roughly 400 miles south near Perm. Then we head over to Kurgan where we can get a jeep for the trip into Kazakhstan. We have a few friends who will help us get to China after we cross the border. Then it will be safe to contact Yao."

Alfred grumbled at the thought of having to trek through several countries before finding a way home. But it wasn't long before he was leaning over Gilbert's shoulder to peer at the control panel, "Nice helicopter you got here, the Ka-60 is a spectacular piece of equipment."

"Yes it is." Gilbert quirked an eyebrow and looked at Alfred. He knew where this was going already, "and no you can't fly it, it's mine."

"Please?", Alfred begged trying his best puppy-dog eyes on Gilbert.

Gilbert remained firm, "No way in hell times a thousand, damn it! It's my awesome helicopter, you want to fly one, then get your own."

"Aww, you're no fun at all." Alfred whined as he caught sight of something on the floor and immediately perked up, "Hey weapons!" He picked up the grenade launcher and admired it, "An AGS-30, Cool."

"What are you doing?" Ivan panicked as he tried to reach over and grab the launcher from Alfred.

Alfred held the weapon aloft out of Ivan's reach, "Hey don't sweat it, stuff that goes boom is so my forte. And this definitely goes boom." Just then a loud explosion erupted that shook the helicopter.

"Alfred!" yelled Ivan "What the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything that was…"

"KRESSEE!" cursed Gilbert, "We've been hit!"

Down on the ground obscured by trees several jeeps and two tanks in snow camo. Gunfire was now tapping on the metal shell of helicopter. "SHIT! Ivan, man the weapons. Alfred if you know how to fire that thing, now would be a good time!"

"I'm on it already." Alfred answered as he unlocked the safety off the AGS-30 and slid open the door. Ivan aimed one of the large missiles as Alfred fired wildly at the jeeps he saw soldiers scatter for cover as one jeep was destroyed. "Amateurs", Ivan cursed under his breath, "Do they even bother to train them before sending them out?" Ivan knocked out one of the tanks and the other fired. There was a loud explosion and the helicopter gave another sharp lurch as the engine started to sputter erratically as alarms began beeping and red lights began to flash on the control panel. The smell of smoke began to fill the cabin. "No!" hollered Gilbert, "nobody shots Gilbird2 and lives! Ivan hit that fucking thing already!" Ivan launched the missile and the second tank exploded. Alfred was still wreaking havoc on the jeeps as they slipped past the wreckage and resumed their course heading south until the smoldering wrecks were out of sight. Gilbert had switched off the alarms and the smoke was just clearing out of the cabin, it looked like they were going to be okay. Gilbert hummed disconcertingly as he tapped on one of the gauges.

"Shit, Ivan." Gilbert muttered with worry.

"I know, I see it on my control panel too." Ivan answered.

"What, what is it?" Alfred said as he put down the launcher and leaned over Gilbert's shoulder to get a look for himself. He could see the status panel of the helicopter and saw the red flashing panels indicating were the damage was. "How bad is it?"

"We are losing fuel; we should still have enough to make it to Perm before we run out completely, but…"

Alfred noticed Gilbert's anxiety rising as he looked at the gauges again, "What but, no but nobody needs but."

"But the damage to the engine is bad." As soon as the words left Gilbert's lips the engine started to sputter wildly. "No baby, you can't die now! Come on!" Gilbert cried to the helicopter as he began madly typing on the onboard computer on the control panel. The engine seemed to hear him because it quieted down a bit. Gilbert sat back and breathed a heavy sigh of relief and muttered, "I hope that takes care of it."

Ivan had a morose look on his face as he stared out across the horizon, "I don't think they were looking for us. If they had been ready for us they would have killed us easily." Ivan grunted to Gilbert.

"They weren't, they were probably heading to the smaller towns. Andrey, or should I say asshole, is going after the families of the soldiers who defected to the American side of the war. They are putting them in 'relocation' camps, but they have been murdering a lot of them."

Alfred froze upon hearing that, "They are going after families?"

Ivan stared at the passing world below muttering grimly, "Really now, just like those days again?"

Gilbert was working still flipping the switches on the gauges in an attempt to assess the damage as he spoke, "Hey Ivan, Asshole isn't winning any friends on either side of the war, it will only be a matter of time before somebody takes him out." Satisfied with what he was looking at he hit a few more buttons and turned to Ivan, "You my friend are about to have yourself a full fledged rebellion."

Alfred was confused, "Ivan, a rebellion is not something that usually goes unnoticed by a nation, how come you don't know what's going on with them, your people. Can't you feel anything?"

Ivan shook his head, "No Alfred, I can't feel them, I haven't felt anything since the days before Stalin and do not ask me about it, I do not know why!" he ground out as his hands gripped the steering column tightly.

Alfred couldn't believe what he just heard. Ivan was numb to his people and his land. How was that possible?

It was about a half an hour of heavy silence between all three nations with only the hum of the engine droning in their ears as they flew over the thawing landscape. Alfred watched the ground below them. The Volga River and its tributaries snaked lazily, weaving like a muddy serpent through the landscape below. They were still quite a way from their destination when an alarm from the control panel broke the silence.

"What's wrong now?" Alfred asked as he stood up and looked at Ivan's set of gauges. The status panel had several large areas blinking in red. "Shit cursed Gilbert. We've got to land."

Just then the helicopter gave a lurch as engine began to make a horrible noise like something was winding under pressure. Gilbert had already started to try to bring the Gilbird2 as close to the ground as he could. "NO! baby you can't die!" Tears were already starting for form in his eyes. He saw a field ahead and aimed for it in an attempt to bring the copter down in as few pieces as possible.

They were over the tops of the trees closing in on the clearing, when the winding sound met its crescendo and then there was a horrible wrenching sound followed by a sickening snap as something broke free. The next moment was nothing but a blur of helicopter parts, smoke, and yelling. An explosion rocked the cockpit and Gilbert was slammed from behind by the explosion wrecking his seat. Alfred grabbed Gilbert and Ivan grabbed the packs Gilbert had prepared for them and they jumped. Being immortal had its benefits such as not dying when jumping out of a crashing helicopter 30 feet off the ground. They landed roughly in the bushes of the leading edge of the clearing that Gilbert had been aiming for. The Gilbird2 bravely sailed away towards the end of the clearing before tipping, and finally crashing and disintegrating into a spectacular fireball punctuated by further explosions as all the ammunition, triggered by the flames exploded.

Ivan and Alfred had to hold Gilbert down as they tried to take cover from the exploding ammunition and flaming shrapnel that came with it. "Nooo" wailed Gilbert as he struggled in their grip "Not my baby! It should have been me!" he cried with all the emotion of a parent who just lost a child before passing out from blood loss.

* * *

I humbly thank you for the time you've spent with me on this. If you like it please let me know, if you hate it or see flaws that need to be pointed out you are more than welcome to do so and will thank you for taking the time to let me know.

All the weapons are real you can look them up if you want to see what they look like including the poor deceased now nothing but a charcoal briquette, Gilbird2.

Next chapter Mathew and his brother have a little discussion, but no, it's not that brother... and not that one either...

yaoiforever666 Beta Girl! I still really need you even though you disappeared on me and your e-mails have all bounced back and your facebook hasn't shown any signs of life for over a week and e-mail your inbox is full. I figure you are still having computer problems I hope you get it straight soon!** I need you!** I promise I'll be good!


	9. Brothers

North American Brotherhood.

* * *

Meanwhile back in North America...

Mathew was beside himself, as he paced his house waiting for the signal. Both worry for his brother and hatred for Ivan seethed throughout him as the maddening hours ticked by. Nobody Fucks with the North American brothers and gets away with. Nobody.

It had been months since anyone had seen Alfred as the bloody war with Russia raged across the U.S. The satellites had been down for days now, leaving Mathew with precious little information to go on. He couldn't even get in contact with his brother Juan. Mathew hadn't heard from him since just after Alfred disappeared. At that time the Mexican nation was still fighting his own war, as the drug cartels plaguing his land had joined together in an attempt to topple the government. Juan had refused help, insisting the problem wasn't that bad and his people could take care of it themselves. Mathew hoped he was right.

Alfred on the other hand… The only information Mathew had to go by was the brief note from the reservation where his father stayed, saying that he had made contact with Alfred. The tribesmen wrote only that their father had performed Alfred's Wicoha through the rings.

The Wicoha is difficult on the body for both the one performing it and the one it is performed on when done face to face, but to do it through the rings at such a distance would take a lot more energy. Mathew knew their father would be asleep for a while.

Mathew's throat grew tight at the thought. He knew the only way Alfred could have gone through something like that was if… Mathew shuddered. It was a special ceremony only for nations, and a nation can only go through something like that when they are empty handed. They need to be stripped of bosses, rules, defenses-and for a grown nation such as Alfred- a decent sized chunk of their sanity. It is when you offer yourself to them completely unencumbered, completely free, then and only then will a spirit choose to become the guardian of that nation. Mathew remembered his Wicoha when the polar bear spirit had marked him and became his guardian. He was still very young. long before England or France came into his life. It had been an Inuit chief Knud Rasmussen that had taken him in. He had seen his father only briefly, Oyate came to look at Mattew only to leave as quickly as possible shaking his head and muttering something about 'not another one' as he hightailed it back to the southern lands.

Mathew nudged Kumajirou with his foot gently, causing the bear cub to roll over languidly in his sleep by the fireplace, then knelt down to rub his stomach. Matt's other hand instinctively brushed his side where the spirit scars from his claws were. After becoming Mathew's guardian, Kumajirou did something that nobody had seen before; he gave up his spirit form to stay with Mathew physically. While Mathew didn't understand why Kuma chose to be with him this way, he was grateful to say the least. He always felt calmer and stronger when he was able to touch Kuma and feel his strength; the two had been inseparable ever since. Even when Mathew came to world meetings he always brought the bear spirit with him. In fact the only time they were separated was when Kuma disappeared during the reported time of Alfred's Wicoha. Matt wondered which animal had chosen Alfred. It was probably the bald eagle, it had to be, but the only ones who knew for sure were unable to say anything.

Still, Mathew had to chuckle to himself when he pictured his brother at the next world meeting with a bald eagle sitting on his shoulder. But he laughed even louder when he thought of what Arthur's reaction would be.

Mathew felt a fresh wave of sickness at the thought of his brother alone, far away from his lands, at the mercy of his worst enemy. Even when Ivan and Alfred were not at war with each other it was still unsettling to be in the same room with the two of them. It was like being in a room packed full of gunpowder, just waiting for an errant spark. That unhinged look in Ivan's eyes was something no other nation shared. Matt could picture those pitiless, cold eyes whose cruelty seemed to have no bounds looking down on his brother. Matt was sure Alfred's life was nothing but pain right now.

Being that Al's people were now fighting fiercely for both their lives and their country was only a mild consolation. It meant that Alfred was still fighting back at least. But it did little to drive away horrible visions of what was happening to his brother right now. In a lot of ways Alfred reminded Mathew of a cat. When a dog is cornered and alone it will lower its head and accept a new leader, but cats are a different story. Even the tiniest kitten when cornered will bristle with every fiber of its being yowling and spitting, claws and teeth bared. Even when up against an enemy that will surely slaughter it. Cats don't go down without a fight. You may beat them, but they will be sure to take a chunk out of you before you succeed. Yes, Alfred was a lot like a cat in that way.

Mathew weighed his options against his growing anxiety. Micholevich made it very clear that any attempt to help the U.S. would be regretted terribly. Could he count on his invisibility to make it out of the country anyway? Mathew paced like a caged tiger. He was so involved in his thoughts that when his phone rang he nearly had a heart attack. His eyes went wide when he saw who was calling, "Juan! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Matt, the phones are back up."

"So I hear."

"How are you holding up? Have you heard anything about Al?"

"I'm fine, but everything else is still the same. Did the reservation send you the note?" Mathew asked distractedly. Kumajirou woke up and walked over to nudge Mathew's leg. Mathew reached down and scratched under his chin.

"Yes, I got that. It's about time dad helped him. I hope he's okay."

Mathew tried to put on a brave voice, "He should be okay. I mean look how the war is going. The rebels are gaining back a lot of ground from what I hear. By the way, how's your war on drugs going?"

"The drug cartels and the government gave up the fight for now; everyone is just worried about their families in the U.S. You should see my people Matt; everybody is working together doing what we can to help Al's people." Juan paused Mathew could hear a slight intake of breath, "I just wish Al could see it." Juan's voice cracked a little.

Mathew felt his stomach drop, he gave a weak laugh," Heh yea, he'd love that. You know how Al gets when he sees people get together for a good cause. Don't worry Juan, if I have my way he'll be home soon."

"I like the sound of that, that Ivan's a real bastard. So when are we gonna' go pay him a little visit? I need to get a new baseball bat; I broke my last one over a Russian's head the other day."

Mathew shook his head in disgust, "What the hell are you doing sneaking over the boarder?"

"You're not the only one who can move around without being seen. Everybody forgets about me the same way they do you, it's like we don't exist or something. I think Al's the only one of us who can't pull it off. He's just too flashy. So when do we leave bro? I'm tired of these small fries; I want to show Ivan what it really means to be North American yo!"

"No _you_ are not going to do anything; _I _am going to get Al back, alone. I can move a lot quicker without having to worry about anyone else. I'm just waiting on the signal."

"Damn Matty, what do you expect to do by yourself bro?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Then Mathew added in a voice that was smooth, clear, and deadly, "It's Ivan who needs to worry."

"Uh oh!" laughed Juan, "I've heard that tone before, you're plannin' to go all 1812 on Ivan's ass! But shit Matty, I should still go with you. He's my brother too ya know. "

"That's exactly why I need you to stay here. We can't have all three of us gone at the same time. Besides, do you have any idea how cold it is in Russia, even in spring?"

"I can so go, we still have dad here. He is dad after all."

"Not going to happen, _bro_. You're worse than Al when it comes to cold and dad is still unconscious. Juan I really need you to stay here. Al's people are going to need all the help they can get. Just trust me, I have a plan." Mathew pleaded.

"Ha! I trust you brother, but if it was Al saying that I would be running for the nearest bomb shelter. But I still don't like this."

"Neither do I, Juan."

"Hey, have you been hearing anything about the animals acting strangely?"

"There have been a few weird reports. I heard one of an Elk walking into a hospital with an injured child on her back. Odd stuff like that."

"Weird doesn't quite cover it; I have one report here of a Russian strike force attacking a band of rebels. The rebels totally outnumbered should have been slaughtered and they would have, if it wasn't for the rattlesnakes that drove the Russians off. There were like thousands of 'em, it's like they are protecting Al's people. Why do you think they would they get involved? Animals don't get involved in human conflicts. Something weird is going on Matty. Very weird."

"I know, but I think the stories might just be lies spread to throw the Russians off their game."

"No way Matty, I've seen the animals acting weird with my own eyes. I saw some coyotes stealing ammunition out of a Russian Jeep last time I was over the border looking for refugees."

"Hopefully dad can explain it when he wakes up. And you shouldn't be crossing the border like that, you talk about me taking risks." but Mathew's attention was suddenly drawn to the fax machine spitting out a message. Mathew grabbed the paper, the message was short and to the point. A wicked grin slid onto Mathew's face, "Juan my brother, I just got the signal. It's on."

"Damn, are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I told you already" Mathew groaned, "Kumajirou and I have it covered. I swear your head is as thick as Al's"

"Whatever bro. Oh Matt, I almost forgot there were some Russian assholes digging around the Inca ruins on my land. They got away with something, but we don't know what it was. I got word from Ecuador that there were reports in a few countries all over South America of the same guys sneaking around and digging. Something's going on in Russia, something that gives me a bad feeling. Promise me you will be careful Matty.

"I will, I promise" Matt answered distractedly. His safety was really the last thing on his mind right now.

"Stay frosty brother."

"You too, Juan" Mathew said as he hung up the phone and looked at the fax again. The rebel hackers managed to get control of the nukes. The coast was clear for now. Matt crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it in the trash and chuckled to himself. "Payback time Ivan. When I'm through with you, you are going to wish you'd never even heard of North America."

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So yea, A really big thanks to those who took the time to review I love you guys, and a big thanks to you for getting this far. I still have so much more to go... miles and miles...

A huge hug for my Beta. Thank you yaoiforever666 your encouragement helps a lot, it keeps me going in the right track on this story.


	10. The wolves are watching

The Wolves are Watching

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So we left our poor heroes stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a huge bounty on their heads making them lucrative targets for both solider and civilian alike. They were muddy, bleeding, bruised, sore, and tired and to top it off night was falling as fast as the temperature. Oh and then there were the wolves. I almost forgot to mention the wolves, big hairy Russian bastards.

Ivan was tending to Gilbert's wounds as he tried to keep an eye on what the wolves were up to. He could see them darting back and forth in the underbrush surrounding the clearing. Alfred was busy looking for any salvageable weapons left in the wreck of the Gilbird2. "Spring my ass!" Alfred complained bitterly to no one as he rubbed is hands together in an attempt to get some feeling back into them, "It's probably warmer in Alaska right now. Stupid freezing fucking country." Did I mention just how pissy Alfred gets when he's cold?

Gilbert was a mess. He had managed to regain consciousness briefly, but he was still very upset over he loss if the Gilbird2. Upon awakening there was a lot of gnashing of teeth and rending of garments over the lost helicopter before he passed out again, either from blood loss… or possibly the thwack to the back of his head Ivan had given him with his pipe… it was anybody's guess.

"He passed out again?" Alfred said as he knelt down to get a better look at Gilbert.

"Yes, strange he must be very tired." Ivan said covering the fresh lump on Gilbert's skull with some bandages before Alfred could notice it. "You didn't find anything?"

"No, it's all gone." Alfred said with a sigh, "Damn, I should have grabbed something before we jumped."

Ivan and Alfred patched Gilbert up as best they could. His back was a mess of crisscross gashes and scrapes. For a normal nation the cuts would take at a couple of days to or so to heal as long nothing got infected. But the problem was that Gilbert was not actually a nation, so there was no way of knowing just how long it would take him to heal. To top it off they had already used most of the supplies in the first aid kits Gilbert had packed. Ivan looked at the now nearly empty first aid kits and poked futilely at what was left as he silently cursed himself. Maybe if they were lucky, they could find a small farm village and somebody willing to help them. But Ivan shook his head at the thought; that would be too risky with the price on their heads. It might be safer to just steal what they needed instead of risk being turned in. That's when Ivan noticed Alfred was moving stiffly on his left leg, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Alfred huffed as he sat down on the ground. "What about you."

"Just a little bruised from the landing we took. Your leg, why don't you let me take a look at it?"

"No, I got it. I was just waiting for you to finish with Gilbert. I was hoping we'd have some supplies left over." Alfred said as he examined the hole in his pants before carefully pulling up his pant leg. He winched and hissed as he worked the fabric slowly up his leg, revealing a piece of shrapnel the size of a quarter in his calf. "Fuck."

"How is it you didn't notice that?"

"Oh I noticed it, I just didn't want to look. It's not that bad actually." Alfred grabbed the metal hunk, took a deep breath, and quickly pulled it out, "Yah! That hurt worse than I thought it would." He rolled onto his back in agony clutching his leg as the blood ran over his fingers.

Ivan winced with sympathy when he saw that the chunk of metal now lying on the ground was nearly four inches long. He grabbed the end of his coat and tore a strip of the lining out of it.

Alfred started, "What are you doing? Your coat…"

"All we have left in the kits are eye patches and some suppositories. I doubt either of which would be very useful to you."

"Suppositories?"

"Yes now, let me help you." Ivan insisted moving closer to Alfred.

"I don't need help." Alfred said curtly as he sat up and tried to grab the scrap of fabric, "I can do it myself."

Ivan held the fabric just out of his reach, "Nyet, I saw the way you bandage with Gilbert, it is not one of your better skills. If it gets infected I am not carrying you. Let me do it."

"Fine, whatever." Alfred groaned.

Ivan wrapped Alfred's leg as best he could when he was satisfied he sat back. He noticed Alfred had gone beet red. "Does it hurt that bad?"

Alfred shook his head and turned away pretending to see something in the woods, "Hurt? No. Uh, thanks." Alfred looked at the nearly empty first aid kits, "Hey, why would anyone stock a first aid kit with suppositories anyway?"

"Gilbert is weird. Germans are sometimes a little obsessed with… toilet issues." Ivan noticed the brush move, in the forest much closer than before. Ivan leaned in close to Alfred as he lowered his voice, "Alfred, I think we may be in worse trouble. Those wolves smell blood; they are probably waiting for it to get dark before they attack us. From what I can tell there are a lot of them and we don't have any weapons aside from my pipe. We are going to have to fight them the best we can."

"Wolves?" Alfred looked into the forest. He had noticed them but he figured they were just curious and left it at that, "Why would they attack us?"

Ivan looked at Alfred "Last time I checked that's what hungry predators do to wounded things they find."

"Pish, Ivan you're their nation dude. They won't hurt you."

"Oh so it's okay if they just eat you and Gil…." The sentence died in his throat. To Ivan's horror the brush surrounding them was now alive with black glittering eyes. "Shit" Ivan cursed as he took out his pipe and took up position to protect Gilbert. "Alfred stay close to me." But Alfred was already up and walking towards the center of the clearing.

Ivan panicked, he wanted to stop Alfred but he couldn't leave Gilbert unprotected. Afraid that loud noises would provoke the animals, all Ivan could do was whisper loudly," Alfred! Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself eaten?"

Alfred ignored him, he reached the spot he was looking for and stopped. Ivan's chest clenched as he watched one lone gray wolf emerge from the brush and walk over to face Alfred. The wolf moved hesitantly with its head low glancing around at the forest, Ivan, and Alfred. As it got closer it sniffed the air and continued to move cautiously making a wide circle around Alfred. Ivan could only watch, sure that if he startled the wolf now Alfred would surely be attacked.

Once it had made a complete circle, it seemed to be satisfied. The wolf stood more confidently then raised its head, and let out a howl the echoed though the clearing. The other wolves in the forest all did the same. It was then Ivan realized there were a lot more wolves than even he had counted on. It sounded like there were a hundred of them the forest seemed to tremble with the sounds of their howling then all at once of the wolves began pouring out of the forest from all directions. Ivan couldn't help but call out, "Alfred, no!"

But Alfred turned to him with a Hollywood grin and gave Ivan a wink, as he stood arms at his side with his hands open welcoming them to him. The wolves descended upon him swiftly like a fluid avalanche of fur. To Ivan's utter amazement and relief, instead of tearing Alfred to little bits the wolves were greeting Alfred. They pranced around him excitedly growling and yipping as they rubbed against Alfred's legs. They nipped his hands and some jumped up to touch his chin as if he was one of their own! Alfred called to Ivan "Hey Ivan, you should come over here and greet them, you are their nation after all."

"Nyet", Ivan said as a wolf came to sniff him, Ivan stiffened and leaned away ready to bash it in the head, "This is close enough for me. I don't like wolves very much." The wolf gave Ivan a puzzled look as it trotted over to Alfred with the rest.

Alfred studied Ivan, something was off. Granted this wasn't a normal encounter between animals and a nation. He knew that the wolves were just attracted to the wolf spirit he was carrying with him, but Ivan should still feel something for his own, even if they were wolves. Alfred remembered what Ivan said about not feeling his people, there was no mistaking it now; something between Ivan and his land had somehow become disconnected.

Alfred didn't say a word as he knelt down now and let the wolves swarm him completely; he petted them under their chins and greeting them in return. But his mind kept wandering to Ivan. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be cut off from the land like that, disconnected. For a nation that would be like being blind and deaf, or like being completely covered in scar tissue, unable to feel neither pain nor comfort. That was no way to live, not even Ivan deserved that kind of existence. Alfred made a promise to himself, he would find a way to fix Ivan, somehow. It was then he felt something like a gust of wind. The rest encounter lasted several minutes, finally when the wolves were done; they broke back up into their respective packs and disintegrated back into the forest. All accept for one large black wolf that Alfred hadn't noticed before. The massive animal stared at Alfred with piercing lilac eyes. The same color as Ivan's. Alfred watched it curiously for a few moments. A ridiculous thought cross his mind, but then again. He leaned in, staring curiously at the wolf, "Dad?"

The flattened his ears and growled.

"Ok, ok not dad but why, who,…" Alfred realized he wasn't going to get answer and gave up.

Ivan feeling that it was safe to leave Gilbert, walked over to Alfred. Who was still trying to figure out what was up with this wolf, "Hey Ivan?"

"What is it Alfred"

"He wants us to follow him."

Ivan looked at Alfred shook his head and chuckled darkly, "…and they call me unstable?"

* * *

Thanks to everybody who read this. Whether you liked it or not I would love to hear about it.


	11. A devil in fur?

Yea, now it's beta'd. Thank you so much yaoiforever666 you rock!

* * *

A devil in fur?

* * *

Ivan looked down at the wolf as it sat next to Alfred. The wolf glared at Ivan with piercingly cold lilac colored eyes. Throughout most of Ivan's history, wolves were seen as nothing more than vermin, detestable opportunistic creatures not worthy of mercy or kindness. Its eye color was not lost on Ivan either; clearly this was not a real wolf, which made it even more dangerous.

Ivan ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, "Alfred, in this country we have lots of stories we tell to our children of what happens when people follow wolves into the woods... and none of them end well!"

Alfred just rolled his eyes, "Ivan, It's not just a wolf."

"Yes Alfred I know, I just heard you call it dad!"

Alfred just waived him off, "That was my mistake, he's not dad. I have no idea why or how he's here, but he wants to help us. I can feel it." Alfred said as the wolf pulled his ears back and glared even harder at Ivan.

Ivan debated whether Alfred needed to _feel_ the pipe on the back of his head as well.

Alfred noticed the wolf and Ivan glaring daggers at each other and realized that this was going to be a long night. "Look Ivan, you can't feel your land, which means that you can't find your way around, can you?" Alfred caught the look that crossed Ivan's face, confirming his suspicion.

Ivan didn't want to admit it but Alfred was right. The numbness left him completely lost in his own land. There was no way of knowing were they could find help or shelter. Without somebody to guide them, they could walk for days and not come across a single village.

"Come on Ivan, look at him." Alfred impatiently gestured to the wolf who was still glaring at Ivan, "What do you see, what do you really see. Look closely."

Ivan gave the wolf a mirthless smile, "I see a devil with fur."

Alfred face-palmed with a audible smack as the wolf began to growl, "Ivan dude, listen we need help. The weather's getting bad and it's freakin' cold and we need to find shelter. Gilbert is going to get an infection if we don't find him somewhere better to heal up. Now this wolf spirit is here to help, so we need to let him help us!"

"If it is a North American spirit what is it doing in the flesh here in Russia?"

"I told you already, I don't know. I have no idea what's going on with these spirits most of the time. Matty's Kuma did the same thing that, at least made sense, but my animal is cougar. That's why I thought he might be dad somehow, but this wolf isn't my dad and it's not my spirit animal either."

"Maybe your cougar took a hike, now you get Russian wolf because you are Russian too now." Ivan curtly muttered under his breath. Ivan didn't mean anything by it. He was just stating an observation that made perfect sense to him, but he knew the mistake he made when he noticed Alfred stiffen.

"I haven't lost, Ivan." Alfred hissed.

The day and lack of Vodka had started to make Ivan feel... prickly so he pushed Alfred a little more just to see where it would go. "Alfred, I admire your spirit and all. It's very cute, but Andrey is not done yet. I think we established already that he cares not for his people nor anyone else's for that matter. If he starts to feel as if he is going to lose, he will use any means necessary without care of the consequences."

"I'm winning Ivan, partly due to some of your own people, I might add. What's he gonna' do? It's not like he can launch a nuclear attack with all of his own troops on the ground."

"Yes, that is precisely what he will do. Once Andrey senses he's going to lose, I wouldn't put it past him to launch a nuclear attack just to, as you would say, be a dick." Ivan saw the look of shock cross Alfred's eyes, he realized he may have gone too far but it was the truth after all.

Alfred hadn't thought of that. There was no way Andrey would be that crazy. Would he? With all of his own countrymen on the ground it would be an unthinkable act, but still we were talking one of Ivan's bosses after all. Alfred tried to gain of control the fear he was starting to feel, but he felt unstable, like the ground had just turned to quicksand under him. He could feel that Ivan being sincere about what he was saying but that didn't mean he was right or wrong, just that he believed what he was saying, "Your people are fighting here in Russia too. Gilbert told us about the revolution. Even I can feel it, Ivan, the people are coming together. As soon as enough of your people here have had enough they will rise up and take out that asshole."

Ivan gave a slick smile, "Maybe what you feel is just your new allegiance to me."

Alfred grabbed the front of Ivan's coat, his eyes blazing dangerously. He was ready to punch him in his big stupid nose, but Ivan didn't make a move to fight back. It was a reaction he didn't expect to get out of Ivan. His anger roiled within him but he couldn't bring himself to punch somebody who had no intention of fighting back. It only made Alfred even angrier. "Fight me!" He said through gritted teeth.

Ivan looked at Alfred as calmly as he could, "No."

Alfred roared not letting go of the jacket, "You are such an asshole! Do you really think by being nice to me I will just roll over and die for you? Do you really think that you can break me by being gentle?" Alfred laughed and pushed Ivan who fell back a few steps from the force. "Arthur tried that too you know, he started out all 'big brother will take care of you', then he stared added more and more rules thinking I wouldn't notice. He thought he could keep me by his side like a good puppy and look how well it turned out for him!"

Ivan didn't want this. He mentally cursed himself for letting his crankiness get to him. He wanted to work with Alfred not against him, "Listen Alfred, I know how you feel"

Still spitting mad, Alfred cut him off, "No Ivan! I really don't believe you know how anything feels! Maybe it's you who's turning to me. You pretend to have all the answers figured out, like you're still in control, but you're lost in your own land! Cut off from everything that makes you what you are!"

Ivan looked like a trapped rat. Alfred knew he'd managed hit a tender subject, the fire in his heart cooled rapidly at the sight of Ivan looking so uncomfortable. "How did you get disconnected? What happened Ivan? Tell me the truth."

Ivan looked sick, he was already starting to breathe unsteadily, "I told you already, I can't..."

"Can't what Ivan? When did it start? I mean I know you said after Stalin but when exactly?"

Ivan paled to a nearly greenish hue, "Trust me Alfred; you do not want me to get into this."

"Why?" Alfred demanded as the hairs on wolf's back began to rise.

Ivan started to shake a little as his breathing became more ragged, "You just don't... I can't... I..." The wolf started to whine loudly as it moved between Alfred and Ivan staring up at Ivan. "I don't even remember how many times they killed me before I felt it. How many deaths I suffered, the nightmare was real. The pain, the screaming, it was horrible! I could feel the anchors between me and the land grow thinner and thinner, I felt less and less each time they killed me until the tread was so small it snapped. I feel like I've been living as a shadow ever since! Nothing more a ghost haunting my own land!"

Alfred could feel Ivan's emotions; he was frozen to the spot with horror from the intense feelings Ivan was going through from just remembering what happened. Alfred realized that Coyote's little talent was a double edged sword. The wolf continued to whine even louder as it stepped closer to Ivan, as Ivan continued his rant looking for all the world like he was staring in the face of his own death, "You get to die with each one of them, you get to hear their loved ones scream, and you feel them gasp for their last breath in the dirt as their world goes dark, hundreds of thousands of times with each killing. You can feel them die you can feel their hands dragging you down frantically grasping in their desperation to be saved, but you know none of them will be spared!"

Ivan stopped talking, He just stood there shaking, his eyes wide and unfocused. Alfred felt relief that the emotions Ivan was feeling seemed to have stopped. Good thing Coyote wasn't his spirit animal or he would have felt Ivan's feelings completely. He stepped over to try to comfort Ivan, but the wolf stood in his way. Alfred tried to push the wolf as it started to snarl at Ivan, "What's the matter?"

But it was already too late. Alfred didn't even notice Ivan had moved, he just felt Ivan's iron like hands clap around this throat. The wolf grabbed hold of Ivan's scarf and started to pull hard as Alfred struggled against Ivan. Ivan's face was blank but his eyes were wide in terror. Alfred tried to choke out his name as he fought to wrench Ivan's hands from his neck but it was no use. Ivan was like a pitbull once he got a hold of you. Alfred tried to pull away and fell onto his back with Ivan still clinging to him, never letting up. Alfred could feel the edges of his vision going black. He was starting to panic, needed go get away somehow. That's when the light was blocked out by a black furry body. The wolf slid up and stood over Alfred and pushed his forehead to Ivan's. Alfred didn't understand the exchange, but he swore he saw a spark of light flash between them.

In Ivan's dark world the screeching and clawing madness stopped as a tiny spark of light exploded, destroying the darkness that held him. To his relief, Ivan found himself back in the real world, looking down on Alfred who was gasping for breath in his hands. He scrambled off of Alfred muttering a brief apology and tried to help him up.

Alfred wasn't ready to stand yet. He remained on the ground for a bit trying to catch his breath, "First you try to kill me then you try to help me, I really wish you'd make up your mind already."

"I warned you that I didn't want to get into it, I tried to tell you what happens but you didn't want to hear it. No you had to hear everything." He knelt down next to Alfred and gently tried to get a look at the damage done, "Are you okay?"

Alfred could feel Ivan's concern. He looked at Ivan curiously, did he care that much? Alfred guessed it was probably that when they were close like this he could feel the less intense emotions as well, "Ivan, I think it's because you're not grounded that causes you to turn like that. Good thing wolf was here to pull you out of it."

"What did that devil do to me?" Ivan said as he stood and helped Alfred up off the ground.

"I don't know, but whatever it was it stopped you, so you should thank him." Alfred tried to brush some of the dirt and grass off of himself. "Have you ever asked anybody for help with this?

"Who would I ask?" Ivan tried to steady Alfred who seemed a little shaky on his feet.

"I don't know Yao, my dad, or even India, she's really good with this kind of stuff. Maybe one of them has seen this kind of thing before?"

"Okay, maybe for you, when we cross the border I will ask Yao." Ivan said knowing full well that Yao would probably want nothing to do with him, never mind help him.

"I can tell you're lying Ivan~" Alfred sang as he pulled away from Ivan and started to walk back to Gilbert. "Now, I say we follow wolf since I'm pretty sure you don't have a better idea."

Ivan didn't say anything he just grumbled under his breath and watched the wolf with utter disdain as it trotted after Alfred. He knew it was evil, he just needed to prove it to Alfred. Somehow.

Gilbert opened his eyes as Alfred knelt down next him, "Hey Gilbert, how are you feeling?"

"I'm still Awesome." He said giving a weak thumbs up.

Alfred laughed, "Let me check", he said as took off his glove and put his hand on Gilbert's forehead. "Yea you're still a freak." but he shot Ivan a concerned look.  
Ivan knew what it meant. Gilbert was starting to run a fever. They needed to get him somewhere safe before he got sicker.

"That's awesome freak to you, asshole." Gilbert said as he pushed Alfred's hand away.

"Yea yea Gilbert, we have to move, so I'm going to carry you okay?"

"I get to ride you like a pony?" he said with a mischievous grin.

"Freak."

"Awesome freak." Gilbert corrected.

Ivan carried the gear and Alfred carried Gilbert on his back. The familiar weight on his back felt good, it reminded him of those many nights when he had to carry Arthur home the same way after England, had a tad too much to drink. Only this time, there was a lot less vomiting involved, which Alfred was thankful for. Still, it made Alfred miss Arthur's drunken ramblings, well sort of anyway. Even the weather reminded him of England. It was a drizzly dismal mix very light rain sleet snow. As they trudged through the mess, Alfred felt Gilbert's warm weight on his back getting worryingly warmer. He also noticed that Gilbert wasn't talking much anymore and he wasn't moving much either.

Ivan really hoped they would get where the wolf was taking them soon. The world around them was unnervingly silent accept for their steady footsteps and the hiss of the sleet hitting the freezing ground. He did not like being in the forest at night. The wolf trotted on ahead at an easy pace checking looking back every once in a while to make sure the others were still following him. They came to a small dirt path going uphill bordered with dense forest on either side. It was late now but thanks to the light snow on the ground it was still fairly easy to see. They followed the wolf as it loped easily up the slushy, muddy mess. But weighed down and tired as they were the gentle sloping hill became a treacherous climb. Alfred lost his footing and almost went face down, he only barely managed to catch himself enough to not squash Gilbert's limbs under him. Gilbert slid and nearly went over Alfred's head.

"I'm okay."

Ivan started to carefully pick his way over to Alfred to give him a hand, "Forgive me but I'm a little more concerned about Gilbert right now"

"He's okay too, I didn't drop him."

"Maybe we should switch."

"Vanya?" Came a voice from the top of the hill. Ivan froze. That voice. It couldn't be. Nobody has seen her for over 200 years.

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Oh good, you're till here. Thanks for sticking with this I really hope it hasn't been a waste of your time.

A special thanks to all my reviewers it really means a lot to me. If you ask questions in reviews I always answer them. If you see any issues with this or any other chapter, you would be my friend by pointing it out.

I'm working hard on the next chapter, but I'm running into logistical issues over what needs to be explained and when, but I'll figure it out soon... I hope...


	12. Mathew's journey and Xenia

CH.11 Mathew's journey, and Xenia

Kumajirou was sleeping peacefully by the fireplace, enjoying the warmth as he lazily dreamed polar bear dreams, when he felt somebody nudging him.

"Wake up Kuma. It's time to go lazy bear." The polar bear blinked awake and sniffed the air groggily as the soft voice pleaded more insistently, "Come on Kumajirou, I need you to help me find Alfred. You remember Alfred don't ya? Get up already."

The polar bear spirit sat up and looked at who was taking to him. He tilted his head to one side curiously as he stared into the face of his nation… blankly. Mathew frowned and tisked in annoyance. "Don't you dare start playing that game again, you know very well who I am!" he scolded.

Kumajirou did know who Mathew was, but playing 'who are you' was Kumajirou's favorite game, mainly because Mathew was so quiet most of the time. Kumajirou didn't like it when his nation was quiet or when other nations failed to notice him. Kumajirou much preferred it when Mathew sounded strong and he always sounded strongest when he was trying to assert just who he was. Kuma looked into Mathew's eyes and felt his nation's anxiety. 'Oh right' he thought to himself, 'that other one isn't here.' His nation was not feeling whole because that one was too far away. Kumajirou decided he would need to find the other one so his nation could stop worrying, then he could to back to sleep.

The polar bear huffed as he rose to his thick paws and rubbed against Mathew's leg with a low grumble then headed for the door. Having a direct link to the other animals spirits, Kumajirou knew exactly where Alfred was.

"Thanks Kuma, I'm counting on you."

Mathew called for a plane that would take him to the western shore. He snuck into Alaska and headed for the Bering Straight. The Eskimo tribes that inhabit these lands are the same people who call Canada, America, and Russia their home. Although the Russian Yupik tribes speak a different language than the Canadian Inuit, the dialects are still similar enough to recognize and basically understand each other. With a keen understanding in the ways of the land, the Eskimo people all understood who and what Mathew really was, which meant he could travel freely within all of the Eskimo lands and the people would help him in any way they could.

Matt smiled to himself when he finally set foot in Russia, it was all too easy. The only problem would be what to do with Ivan when he found him. As expected, the Russian Yupik welcomed Mathew and Kumajirou. The children were especially delighted with Kumajirou; they had never been able to get close to a live polar bear cub and took great delight in feeding him treats and playing with him. But once they had what they needed it was time to head on. They bade the Yupik farewell and boarded a small plane that was to take them as far into the Russian interior as it could go. The pilot seemed confused by Mathew's directions, but followed them anyway. When they finally landed the man looked around baffled as to what Mathew was going to do next. They had set down miles from the nearest city or village. The pilot didn't want to leave a man, no matter who he was, in the middle of nowhere like this. Mathew dropped Kuma to the ground where instantly the polar bear began to change. Kumajirou's cub form was simply for Mathew's convenience, his true form was that of a very large fully grown polar bear. The pilot watched aghast as the bear became enormous in front of his eyes. Then Mathew turned to the pilot and gave him sharp a salute and a kind smile. The shocked pilot was just about say something, when saw that Mathew and Kumajirou… were gone. Vanished, just like that, leaving only a confused pilot scratching his head in confusion.

"Mama Rurik!" Ivan gasped as he saw the figure at the top of the hill coming towards them.

"VANYA! How on earth did you find me?" She ran up to Ivan and embraced him in a tight hug. She was tall for a woman, nearly as tall as Alfred. She looked older but not by much, she looked like a much prettier version of Ivan. Strong and noble looking with the same color eyes as Ivan. Her long silver hair tied back into a thick braid, she was wearing a woolen cloak over a gray dress that belied the beauty that still sparkled underneath. She was enchanting to say the least.

"Huh, little help here." Alfred said as was still struggling to balance with Gilbert in the slick mud.

"Ah, excuse me," Ivan he said to her as he took Gilbert from Alfred and held him bridal style against his chest.

Mama Rurik gasped. "Oh Gilbert dear, what happened?" She asked as she looked over unresponsive nation in Ivan's arms.

"Eh, he broke his toy. Oh and this" he said tilting his head towards Alfred, "Is the United States of America."

"Ah, United States, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she said as she grabbed his and gave it a squeeze, "I am the Rurik Dynasty but please call me Xenia."

Alfred was still clearly confused as to who this was and nodded dumbly, "Oh okay Xenia, it's a pleasure to meet you too. You can call me Alfred."

"We need to get Gilbert inside, please come with me." They followed her up the wooded path towards the top of the hill.

Alfred caught up to Ivan. "The Rurik dynasty?" he asked quietly.

Ivan gave a pained smile, "Ah, the After the time of the gold and blue hordes there was a dynasty of kingdoms that came together, it was only after they started to identify the land as the land of Rus that I was born."

"Oh" Alfred's eyebrows went up in surprise, "you're kidding, right? So she's actually…"

"Yes she's Mother Russia" Ivan muttered, "and if you make so much as one mother Russia joke, I will personally remove your larynx."

"I wasn't going to say a word _Vanya dear_." Alfred said sarcastically.

"~But you were thinking it, I can tell by that stupid look in your eyes.~" Ivan sang.

They reached the top of the hill, they were met with a thicket of strange hedges that seemed to stretch to the sky. The entrance gate was elaborate, made of cast iron and covered in ornate details of leaves and flowers. It was a masterpiece, but Ivan could tell there was something strange about it. Xenia gave the gate the tiniest nudge and it swung open with ease despite looking like it weighed several tons. What was even more curious though was the warmth that hit them as the gate opened. They stepped past the gate and their jaws dropped. The land and gardens surrounding a quaint storybook stone building at the top of the hill were lush and green and full of life. They marveled at the green leaves and full grown plants and flowers glistening in the gentle rain that was falling as snow and sleet just outside the gate. "Mama what on earth is going on here? How is this possible?" Ivan gasped.

The wolf was sitting on the front steps waiting for them. She smiled as she gave the spirit a skritch behind his ear. "Oh Vanya, when you've known General Winter for as long as I have, well lets just say that, if I ask him the right way I can pretty much get anything I want from him these days", she said looking up at Ivan with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"You and…General Winter…" Ivan shuddered at the thought as Alfred quietly snickered at Ivan's obvious discomfort.

Inside the house inside was cozy, The walls were decorated with maps and unrecognizable trinkets from the past, bits of things from the time of the hordes to modern globes and even some star and moon charts. Everything, even the furniture, was a sort of mix and match style only nothing matched. Alfred dropped their dripping gear off just inside the door.

"Ivan, bring Gilbert to the room down the hall there's a bed in there for him. I'll go get some bandages and medicine. You're all wet; I hope you have clothing dry clothing in those bags. I don't think anything of General Winter's will fit any of you."

Ivan looked like he was about to be sick at the thought of Xenia having General Winter's clothing in her house, hearing Alfred attempting (and failing) to stifle his laughter at Ivan's expense wasn't helping.

Ivan carried Gilbert in the back room and the wolf followed him. Xenia was already carrying an armload of medical supplies, "Alfred, please sit down and make yourself at home. We will be done with Gilbert in a bit." She said over her shoulder as she disappeared down the hall.

Alfred gladly sank down in the one of the plush armchairs that seemed to wrap itself around him like a hug. The fatigue from the crash and the war were starting to catch up with him. He didn't even notice he had already drifted off to sleep.

Ivan scowled at the wolf sitting between him and Xenia, why wasn't it staying with Alfred. "Shoo. Go play with your master." He pushed it, and it growled back at him bearing a very sharp set of, disagreements. Ivan sighed and gave up.

Xenia busily unwrapped Gilbert's bandages, "It's good to see you and Alfred getting along and this little one as well." She said tilting her head to the wolf spirit between them.

"This devil? He's one of Alfred's little …friends. They are not to be trusted, one of them ripped his chest open, it was terrible." Ivan gathered up the bandages Xenia had just cut away from Gilbert.

"Vanya, it's a wolf spirit, a Russian wolf spirit how could you not recognize him? I was surprised to see him with you though; it's about time you got to know the land spirits."

The wolf growled at Ivan and Ivan shook his head, "I wouldn't call what it is between us as 'getting along', but at least he led us here."

"What are you four doing all the way out here anyway?"

"We are heading to China. The Black Stars want Alfred and we are trying to get him out of the country, but we were shot down before we could reach Perm."

"What do they want with him?"

"I'm guessing they are going to do him what they did to me, to control his people."

"But he's your enemy? What do you care what they do to him?" The question was clearly loaded as if she already knew the answer.

But Ivan really never thought about it before. Why did he care? Why was he so adamant about helping someone who's been his enemy for so long. All he knew was that when he looked at Alfred, he just couldn't bear to think about him being tortured in their hands.  
"Giving the black stars what they want is never a good idea Mama, you know that. Do you really want to see them kill half the people of the United States like that?"

She smiled at him knowingly. "No, I think neither of us would like that. But for how long do you really think you can hide from them?"

Ivan's expression soured, "Oh, I don't know 200 years or so.. I think you've been doing a very good job of hiding; maybe I'll just follow your lead."

* * *

Xenia is the avatar for the Rurik Dynasty, which is basically the closest thing to a country they had before they started calling the land Russia. Since the Rurik Dynasty is the sort of parent country of what we call Russia today, she's still sort of Mother Russia even though the idea for Mother Russia didn't materialize until somewhere after the battle of Stalingrad.

I'm messing with the history a lot here.

The next chapter is soon Ivan and Xenia have a lot of bad history to get past.


	13. Xenia's ghosts

All of the historical events are real. Do not look into the Ural Mountain famine unless you have a very strong stomach... or a very large box of tissues.

* * *

Xenia's tale.

Xenia stiffened at harshness of Ivan's tone. "Why don't you help me finish with Gilbert. We can talk about this when we're done." Xenia said coolly.

Gilbert was just starting to come around when Xenia poured a little too much antiseptic into one of Gilbert's larger wounds and Gilbert woke up with a scream, "OWWW! That fucking hurts!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry Gilbert. I didn't mean to wake you." she said as she tried to dab the excess antiseptic off.

Gilbert blinked and looked at Xenia, taking a few minutes to compute the information his eyes were receiving before pushing off the bed and wrapping Xenia in a tight hug. "Xenia, were have you been? I thought I'd never see you again! Ow ow ow!"

"I'm happy to see you again too old friend, but you shouldn't try to move." Xenia said as she gently tried to push him off of her. "Now lie still so we can fix you up." she scolded as she pressed him back down onto the bed.

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about the awesome me." He said wincing as the pressure hit his back.

Xenia couldn't help but smile at her old friend, "The only thing awesome about you right now is how awesomely bad your fever is. Now are you going to sit still or do I have to tie you down?"

"Ooh kinky, sounds like fun." Gilbert said as he wagged his eyebrows at her.

"Eh, you're as noisy as ever!" She said as she accidentally knocked over the bottle of antiseptic onto Gilbert.

Gilbert nearly jumped out of bed, "Yewwoooowww! Xenia babe, I know you like it rough but be careful, I'm delicate ya know!"

Ivan gave Gilbert a sly grin, "Gilbert, would you care for another dose of… sedatives?" He said, pulling his pipe out.

Gilbert blanched, "Kressesee, you two are real couple of sadists man. And put that thing away Ivan, that's just not cool."

Gilbert was exhausted by the time they had finished bandaging him, so Xenia, the wolf, and Ivan left him to rest and headed to the kitchen to talk.

"I think you got him here just it time, but he's still going to take a little while to heal. Are you going to stay with him until he's healed?" She looked at Ivan hopefully.

Ivan didn't meet her eyes, "Da, we'll wait, we can't just leave him behind. Besides, he's still getting information from his informants from within the Black Stars. Not to mention what they would probably do to him if they somehow managed to find him. They are very fond of their little… experiments." Ivan shuddered a little at the thought.

The wolf walked over to Alfred and nudged Alfred's hand, but Alfred didn't stir in the slightest. Ivan went over and put a hand on Alfred's head. He wasn't warm. Ivan looked closely into Alfred's sleeping face, "He looks exhausted even when he's asleep." Ivan noted with worry.

"He's so far from his land and at war, but he's strong. I'm sure he'll be okay." Xenia said as she rummaged in the hall closet.

"Yes, but for how long? He doesn't even have a capitol to speak of right now."

"His spirit is strong and his people are fighting fiercely, more so than they ever have before. With spirit like that he doesn't need a capitol." Xenia brought out an armload of quilts, blankets, and pillows. "I only have the one spare room, so we will fix a place for you three to sleep in here."

They set up a makeshift bed on the floor. Ivan moved Alfred to the bed; again Alfred showed no sign of waking in the slightest. Ivan wondered if Alfred always slept this heavily or if this was something new. He wished he could get a better idea of how the war was going in the U.S.; then maybe he might have an idea of what he was dealing with.

Xenia went to the kitchen cabinet and brought out two shot glasses, a small bowl, and a large bottle of vodka. Ivan's eyes lit up at the sight of it. "Come, I think you have questions, yes?"

Ivan did have questions. He sat down at the small kitchen table as Xenia poured the vodka in the glasses and into the small bowl which she put one on the floor. The wolf was on it in an instant, sloppily lapping up the vodka and wagging his fluffy tail. Ivan looked at him with disgust. Xenia sat directly across from Ivan at the small round table and looked him dead in the eye as she drained her glass before refilling it again. Ivan drained his as well and sat silently for a moment as he gave the vodka a moment to burn its way into his core. He looked at Xenia; he had a million questions for her. All of them buzzed in his mind: who, when, how, what. But the only thing he could manage to get out was a quiet, broken sounding, "Why?"

Xenia looked at Ivan sadly, it was the simplest of questions but the answer stretched across a millennia of pain, "I had hoped that after Ivan the Terrible was out of power, things would get better. But I was wrong, I watched as the people continued to suffer under the Tsars until I could stand no more. I still held out hope, that is, until that day when the Decembrist revolt was crushed and its leaders hanged. After that, I was done."

"So you just gave up?"

"Not really." She filled their empty glasses again, "I came here and started an orphanage at the base of this hill. If I couldn't save them all, I at least hoped to save a few, but…" Xenia trailed off.

"So what happened to it?"

Her eyes shut tight she shook her head sadly; "I was here during the starving days. I tried to save as many as I could, but so many died my arms. All starved by Lenin! I was desperate to save them, but as more died, more kept coming. I could feel their pain, I ran out of tears to cry for them and even more still came. I had nothing left to give them and they died horribly! There seemed to be no relief in sight, it was an endless parade of suffering and death!" She looked at Ivan as if she could see right through him, her eyes dark with the depth of her pain as she continued, "When I heard the Black Stars were funneling the foreign aid to only those that were loyal to them, I took up my sword. I tried to kill as many as I could, but they found me out and came after me."

Ivan's eyes went wide. He didn't want to hear the rest of it, but Xenia continued, her voice laced with venom and disgust, "They came during the night like cowards, hundreds of them, and they burned the orphanage and slaughtered the children who were already dying of hunger. They didn't know who I was; they called me a traitor and killed me. I could hear the children's screams as I lay on the ground and died with them." She drained another glass as the tears ran down her cheeks. "My heart was broken after that. I wanted nothing to do with the outside world."

Ivan slammed the empty shot glass on the table, "But do you have any idea how much we… I still needed you?"

"Vanya, after they murdered the children, I just couldn't. The pain was too much for me."

"But I needed you! After what they did to me under Stalin, I needed someone, anyone! I was so lost after that; all I had left was hatred and pain. It was only luck that Alfred was strong enough to match me and keep me busy, otherwise I would have unleashed what I had become on the rest of the world! He was the only one crazy enough to keep me in check, and together we came within a hairsbreadth of destroying the entire planet!"

The wolf had started to whine and paw at Ivan desperately. Xenia felt the change in Ivan as well. She stood up and grabbed Ivan's face and looked into his eyes deeply. "Ivan, get a hold of yourself! Look how far you've come since then! You're beating them Ivan! You've crawled back from the brink under your own power; they can't touch you now any more than they can kill you!"

Ivan pushed her off of him and chuckled darkly, "Oh but they have killed me; they killed everything that I am!" He continued to laugh as he could feel himself starting to slip. He stood up, looking for a place to hide. If he lost himself now, who would get hurt this time? He didn't want to hurt anybody, he had to get away.

"Vanya stop! You need to relax." Xenia pleaded.

Ivan backed up until he felt a wall behind him, the darkness filling the edges of his thoughts was quickly closing in. He dropped to the floor, holding his head in his hands. The wolf rushed and put his forepaws on Ivan's lap, and touched his forehead to Ivan's again. And again a spark of light shot thorough Ivan's system, only this time he wasn't too far gone to feel it. As the darkness melted from the edges of his thoughts he looked at the wolf was amazement, "What did he just do?"

Xenia walked over to Ivan and scratched the wolf behind his ear. "You're such a good spirit." She crooned to the wolf, before putting a hand on Ivan's shoulder, "I was hoping that you were possibly feeling the land again since this little one had come to help, but I see that that is not the case. Thankfully though, it seems the land never lost touch with you."

"What does that mean, what did this… thing do?" he said still studying the wolf in sitting in front of him.

"He is a land spirit, he reconnected you if only for a second. He can't fix you, he can only chase the darkness away." She paused for a second giving Ivan a stern look, "You risk hurting everything you love if you stay the way you are Vanya."

"Then it's good that I have nothing to love." Ivan said as he stood up slowly.

"Does that make you happy? To live without love just so you can live without pain?"

Ivan sighed; he didn't want to talk about this anymore, "It has worked so far. Besides if there was a way to reconnect me, I would be at the mercy of my current boss. Is that what you want to see? I would be forced to obey his orders and turn over Alfred."

"Andrey is not your boss, the people are. If they do not approve of the leader, then you are not obligated to obey him. You should know that by now."

Ivan said nothing; he just stared at the floor. He wanted to believe her but was it worth the risk?

"There's a way to restore your connection, but it won't work unless you want it to."

Ivan's eyes went wide, "Really, is it really possible? But…I… I don't know if that's really for the best or not."

"Ah I see now, you are unsure because you are afraid of being reconnected to the pain."

"You would be too with my history. There's no guarantee that I won't see horrible times again."

"We, Vanya, We." Xenia corrected softly, "We've both suffered in the shadows for so long, don't you think that maybe now is our turn to walk in the sun?"

Ivan thought about it. Part of him yearned to be whole again, to feel. But-he just didn't know. He had lived this way for so long, he had forgotten what it was like to be a Nation. Xenia watched the confusion on Ivan's face, "Why don't you get some sleep and think about it. We can talk more in the morning."

* * *

Wow, you made it this far! Thank you for the time you spent reading this I really hope it is worth it for you. Please let me know what you think of this story. I really love to hear what you have to say good or bad.

This story has been a lot of fun to write and it just keeps getting longer so if you like it, you're going to be reading it for quite some time.


	14. Places where nations dare not tread

Born Free Chapter 13

Places where nations dare not tread.

* * *

Alfred awoke slowly as the morning sun rudely decided to start beaming on his face. The only problem was he wasn't ready to get up in the slightest, so he snuggled back into the blankets in an attempt to shield his eyes from the light. But to his dismay, he felt someone peel back the blanket, "Alfred, are you awake?"

Alfred closed his eyes even tighter in protest. Who wanted him awake? Unless someone was either bleeding or on fire was there really any a point to being awake? "Are you're going to sleep the entire day?" the voice said.

_Aw crap_, Alfred thought as he finally recognized the voice, it was Ivan. Alfred groaned and covered his head with the pillow and gave a very grumpy, muffled "Yes." from under it.

"Oh well", Ivan said with mock disappointment, "I guess you don't want breakfast then."

Pillows and blankets went flying instantly as Alfred sat bolt upright, "I'm up! I'm up already." Alfred said…in perfect Russian.

All eyes turned to Alfred. Gilbert was coughing and sputtering, having just choked on his tea, but all Alfred noticed was that Gilbert finally up and around, "Gilbert! You're better?"

Gilbert winced a bit, "Ya, getting there. I see your Russian is…improving." he added hesitantly.

Alfred stared at Gilbert, his brow knitted in confusion; he didn't say that in Russian, did he? That would mean…Alfred felt sick as he gave a nervous laugh, "Heh, well I knew some already, you know, and a…when in Rome as they say…"

Ivan frowned, something was wrong with Alfred. "Gilbert should be good to travel in another day or so, then we can continue on our way." Ivan said as he sat down at the table, trying not to stare at Alfred.

"Come Alfred, I will have breakfast done in a bit." Xenia said motioning to one of the empty seats at the table. The small table was already brimming with cups of tea, toast, and various jams. Alfred stood and felt the twinge from the wound on his leg, and his stomach dropped, why hadn't it healed yet? It was just a little scrape, it should have just gone away by now. Maybe it was just infected; he didn't want to look at it in front of the others. He decided he would check it later when he had a moment to himself.

He looked around making sure the others hadn't noticed when he caught Ivan staring at him with an unreadable expression. If Ivan had noticed he didn't seem like he was going to say anything, so Alfred ignored him as he sat down and turned his attention to the steaming cup of tea in front of him. Alfred wasn't particularly fond of tea, but thankfully he found Russian tea was another matter. It was really strong and actually quite good…with enough sugar.

"Kressese." Gilbert whispered in a mix of both awe and disgust at seeing how much sugar Alfred had just dumped into his tea. He picked up the sugar bowl to check if there was anything left inside it.

"Alfred, why don't you have some tea with your sugar?" Ivan cringed.

"What?" Alfred said as he grabbed a piece of toast, "Dude, it's good! I take my coffee the same way."

"No wonder the diabetes rate of your country is so high; it's a wonder why it's not higher." Ivan said as buttered another slice of toast.

Gilbert turned to Ivan, "So, Ivan before sleeping beauty here woke up, you were just explaining how we managed to pick up a wolf while I was unconscious."

"Ah yes, Alfred was playing beast master and he just appeared." Ivan motioned to Alfred with his butter knife, "I think you should explain, since I'm not sure what happened myself."

Xenia turned form the stove where she was finishing up with the pancakes, "So wait, Alfred called him?"

"Sort of." Alfred said unsure, "I'm not really sure how it happened either. I was just thinking about Ivan and how he was disconnected and poof, this guy showed up." He said as the wolf put his head on Alfred's lap and looked up at him. Alfred scratched the wolf's cheeks with both hands,"Right boy?"

Xenia placed the plate of pancakes, she had just finished making, on the table and sat down next to Alfred. She put a couple of pancakes on a plate and placed it on the floor for the wolf, who ate them hungrily, nearly swallowing them whole.

"Alfred, are you sending this fleabag back or do you intend to take him to America with us?" Ivan asked.

Alfred was just about to chastise Ivan for his choice of words when the wolf came up behind Ivan and snatched his toast right out of Ivan's hand. Ivan took a second to realize what just happened and shot the wolf a death glare. "Filthy beast shouldn't even be in the house unless it is a wolf skin rug!" He yelled as the wolf darted out of arm's reach and ate his toast.

Alfred slapped the table and laughed, "Dude, that was fucking hilarious, good boy Wolfie."

Gilbert stared incredulously at Alfred, "Wolfie? Seriously?"

"Dude, he's a wolf, right? So why not?"

Gilbert ran his hand through his hair, "You are like the worst namer of things, ever!"

"What? How dare you?"

"No seriously, your talent for naming things is like, worse than England's cooking."

"Well, what do you want to call him?"

Ivan sneered at the wolf spirit, "I have a few ideas." The others looked at him, "Throw rug, devil, dead…." He was cut off by the sound of the wolf snarling at him.

Xenia buttered another piece of toast and offered it to the wolf, who took it and crunched it up, "Why don't you call him Boris? I've always liked that name."

Gilbert finished his tea, "It's better than 'wolf'."

Alfred watched as the wolf looked up at Xenia and wagged his tail, "Well, I guess he likes it." Alfred grudgingly admitted. "I still don't know what's wrong with just calling him wolf. I mean Whale never complained about his name." Alfred said and heard the unmistakable sound of Ivan face palming and Gilbert muttering "Mien Gott".(1)

Xenia just chuckled as she leaned back in her chair and tossed another small piece of toast in the air, Boris happily leapt up and caught it in mid air.

…

It was still going to be another day before Gilbert was well enough to travel. Alfred was already starting to feel restless and decided to go for a walk around to clear his head. It felt good to get out of the house for a bit. As soon as he was sure he was alone, he checked the wound in his calf. It was healing, but why was it going so slowly? Then it dawned on him, it was healing at the same rate as Gilbert wounds. The thought made Alfred's throat go dry. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He tried to rationalize his obviously slower than normal healing time, he was at war, it may have been a little infected, maybe something to do with the Wichola his father put him through. There were plenty of feasible explanations, no need to panic. Alfred took a moment or two to calm himself, he would be back in his own land soon and surely everything would go back to normal. Ivan was even on his side, so there was nothing to worry about. But no matter how hard he tied to reason it away, Alfred was worried.

He decided to try to push it out of his mind for now and instead turned his attention to Xenia's amazing garden. Xenia's oasis was truly breathtaking in the morning light. It was lush and full and complete with butterflies and birdsong. Alfred took the time to look at the garden patches bursting with flowers, vegetables, and fruits some of which he had never seen before. He turned his attention to the great iron gate taking stock of the intricate details of leaves and butterflies worked into the wrought iron. He reached out and gave it a gentle push. It moved silently as it opened to reveal the frozen world just outside.

Just past the confines of the garden, was a frozen landscape of iced over grasses and trees shining in the sunlight. The temperature had yet to get past the freezing point so everything was still frozen and perfectly still. It looked like a forest of glass gleaming in the sun. As Alfred stepped past the barrier he immediately felt icy morning air dig sharp little fingers into him. He tugged his coat tight around him and blew into his hands in an attempt to warm them as he started down the hill. The crunching of his footsteps were the only sound to break the eerie silence of landscape around him. That is, until he heard the rough croak of a single crow in the trees above him. It sounded a single throaty caw that echoed out through the forest, dying away into complete silence before the crow would sound another. No answer came to its calls; nothing else dared disturb the crystal-esque alien world. To Alfred, it felt like they were the last two living creatures on earth.

Alfred continued on until he found a building half standing, half collapsed, at the bottom of the hill. His curiosity peaked; he went to get a closer look at the old abandoned husk of stone and brick hulking in the shadow of the hill. It was fairly large and looked as if it had been abandoned for a long time. It had the feel of a school house of some sort. It didn't look like much really, it's blown out windows seemed to stare back at him like dark, empty eyes.

He entered the building, still trying to figure out what purpose it once served. The floor was littered with dried leaves and debris from years of wind and weeds. He could see last years ivy vines weaving intricate patterns like veins winding across the walls and up into rafters. But there was no hint of anything that could give him a clue to what the building once was.

Alfred ventured into the darker parts of the building when a large twig snapped under his foot, immediately an entire flock of alarmed crows that had been roosting in the rafters took flight. The air was live with the beating of black wings and panicked calls as the birds made their mad dash out of the building through the empty windows. Alfred covered his eyes with his arm as crows flitted past him kicking up a flurry of dust and feathers. And then they were gone, their harsh calls echoing like a warning through the forest long after the crows themselves were out of sight.

It took Alfred's eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness of the empty building but when they did he immediately paled at the sight before him. To his horror looking back at him from the dark shadows, were children. Alfred noticed that they surrounded him, filling the shadows. They all looked like corpses some standing, others lying on the ground. Their pleading eyes large and hungry, their barely clothed gaunt bodies packed together in the shadows, skeletal arms reaching out. He could hear the whispered pleas but couldn't understand the words. Starving children wallowing in filth whispering, Alfred knew they weren't real, which for him, only made things even worse. Their whispering became louder and the stench of death began to fill the room. The eyes of the children did not focus on anything they were the eyes of people who had given up their grasp on life. Alfred covered his nose as the putrid odor began to make him feel sick and started to back out of the room, nearly tripping on something on the floor. Then all eyes instantly turned to him and his mind flashed with the horrors of their last living moments.

Alfred got his answer; he knew what the building was now. Alfred remembered the famine that Russia suffered through so very many years ago. Russia's poor died buy the thousands. He remembered the stories of the desperate, struggling people who had resorted to eating bark and rocks just to stop the pain of their starving stomachs. The emotions and pain were too much, he felt like he was being smothered. Alfred turned and ran from the building, back up the hill to the house.

* * *

(1) My god

* * *

... Oh good you're still here!

I hope you like this. Let me know if you did. Nothing gets my chapters going faster than hearing feedback both critical and positive.

This was actually one big chapter and it got split into two. The story is really dragging out but it's so much fun to write. If you see anything that sticks out you would be my friend by pointing it out to me!

I have a super crack omake chapter that I may or may not post. If you request it in a message to me, I will send it to you.


	15. Seeds

Chapter 14 Seeds

* * *

If there was one thing Alfred wasn't good at dealing with, it was ghosts. The haunted looks from those children and the smell had his stomach churning painfully. In his blind panic Alfred ran as fast as he could to get away from the orphanage. He was just about to reach the gate when he literally ran into Ivan, nearly knocking him over. Ivan staggered back a few steps and grunted angrily clutching his chest where Alfred had hit him full force. He was about to yell at Alfred when the sound of Alfred retching stopped him. Alfred knelt on the frozen ground as he emptied the contents of his stomach into the bushes.

"Alfred! What's wrong?" Ivan knelt down beside him and put a hand on Alfred's back.

Alfred pushed him off as he finished and sat on the ground panting. Ivan grabbed Alfred's shoulders, "What's the matter, what happened?" he asked desperately as he gave Alfred a little shake, trying to get Alfred to look at him.

"Ghosts." Alfred panted he pointed a shaking finger towards were he had just run from, "In that building down there."

"What do you mean, ghosts?" Ivan relaxed a bit, knowing that Alfred was always a little irrational when it came to anything involving ghosts.

"Which word didn't you understand? Ghosts, building, or down hill?" Alfred said as sarcastically as he could manage as he coughed.

Ivan rolled his eyes, "Alfred not still afraid of ghosts, are you? With all this spirit nonsense you've been spewing, I thought you were over your fear of them."

"Not the same thing." Alfred said shaking his head, "Spirits and ghosts are completely different."

"Come, you will show me." Ivan said as he stood and tugged Alfred up with him.

Alfred stood up and pulled his coat out of Ivan's grasp, "Noo way! Nuh uh! Not gonna' to happen. If you want to see them, then you go down there your damn self!"

That's when Boris came darting though the gate followed by Xenia and Gilbert, "What's going on here, we heard yelling." Boris ran up to Alfred, jumping up on Alfred and trying to lick his face. Alfred tried to unsuccessfully push him away.

"Alfred went to the abandoned orphanage. He found ghosts there." Ivan told Xenia. Xenia's face dropped as she stared at Alfred in shock. _Oh that's not good_; Ivan thought to himself, "What do you know about this mama?"

"You can see them?" She breathed still staring at Alfred in shock.

Alfred nodded not liking the way she was looking at him, "They were whispering something, then it started to smell. All of them just staring…Gah! It was so…creepy." Alfred closed his eyes took a few deep breaths and willed himself to calm down.

"No," She whispered, "It's not possible. Only Ivan and I should be able to see those children."

"What are they?" Ivan asked.

"Not ghosts so much as memories. That is a dire place, a place where the blood, fear, and hate soaked into the ground and never left. An open wound of sorts that never fully heals." She walked over to get a closer look at Alfred taking his hand in hers, her voice softened as she continued, "We all have places we don't like to tread after there was a lot of pain. Parts of the land that won't let go of the hurt, places we need to never forget, they become sore spots for us. Alfred, I believe you have your own places you dare not tread."

Alfred pulled his hand from her grasp and took a step back; he was going to disagree when it dawned on him. "Gettysburg.", he said quietly with a slight shudder. Even to this day he could not go anywhere near the old battleground.

"But if they're Russian memories, why can Alfred see them?" Gilbert asked as if thinking aloud,"…unless."

Xenia began to pace, "Vanya and I should be the only ones who can see them. I had thought the land hadn't lost its connection with you Vanya. But now I'm afraid I was very wrong." She turned to Ivan and looked up into his eyes with a hard stare, "Ivan Braginski, you need to reconnect with the land. The war with Alfred and the two of you being so close is starting to blur the lines between the two of you. The land is accepting Alfred!"

All the fear and anxiety that had been dogging Alfred's mind came roaring back into horrible clarity, "WHAT? I don't belong in this stinking slush puddle!" his hands balled into shaking fists as he yelled; "I don't belong here!"

It wasn't bad enough he knew he still had to win his land back, but now he was being absorbed into Russia! He knew he'd been feeling weird but he didn't know why. Putting his worst fear in to words made him feel…changed. Like he had been broken apart and some of the pieces didn't fit anymore.

Xenia noticed Alfred's anxiety. "Alfred wait you don't understand, it's not what you think." Xenia tried to calm Alfred down but it was like he couldn't hear her anymore over the raging anger in his head.

This was all Ivan's fault! With a strangled yell, he dove for Ivan knocking him to the ground yelling obscenities as they both began to wrestle on the ground. Alfred hissing through gritted teeth, "I would rather die then become one with your ass! I don't fucking need this! I don't fucking need you!"

Boris was barking madly as Xenia and Gilbert grabbed hold of Alfred and tried to pull him off, "Alfred stop! It's not what you think." Xenia yelled, her voice strained from the effort.

Gilbert grabbed Alfred's arm and hung on with everything he had just as Alfred was about to throw a punch, "Alfred! Stop you don't want to do this; can't you see Ivan's trying to help you?"

Alfred stopped for a moment and looked down at Ivan and felt it clear as day, Ivan's pity. That's when Alfred realized what he was doing…It wasn't Ivan's fault, he'd already lost. And his anger broke as a wave of anguish washed over him. Ivan's pity was shaper than any blow he could have landed on Alfred physically. Alfred relaxed his hold on Ivan, Gilbert and Xenia let go of Alfred as he slid off of Ivan and sat down on the cold ground holding his head in his hands.

Boris ran over to Alfred and whined as he tried to nose Alfred's hands away from his eyes. Ivan sat up slowly looking stunned. Xenia still breathing heavily from the exertion, put a gentle hand on Alfred's shoulder, "What I was trying to say is that you are not so much as becoming one with Russia as much as the land is trying to become one with you." She turned her attention to Ivan, "Since you have remained unconnected for so long the land is looking for a nation. With Alfred here and the people revolting against both the war and Mikhaylovich, many of the people are sympathizing with the United States and so is the land. The land wants its nation and it will readily accept the strongest one it can find. And with Vanya the way he is," Alfred looked up at her as she looked him in the eyes, "that nation is you."

Alfred was so confused he felt like an open wound, but he knew fighting with Ivan wasn't going to him get anywhere. He heaved a sigh of exhaustion and ran a hand through his hair. He was the United States of America, if anyone could get though this somehow it had to be him, he was still the hero…wasn't he? He took a moment of find his voice before he asked, "What happens to Ivan if the land accepts me?"

"I don't know for sure, but that's not going to happen." Her voice grew harsher, "Is it Vanya?" She turned to Ivan who still letting the information sink in. Was he really ready for this? Boris was still nudging Alfred worriedly and Ivan understood why. He'd never seen Alfred look so lost before. This was not the way things were supposed to be. Everything in Ivan's life had been out of balance for far too long. For is own people, for himself, and even for Alfred; he needed to take his rightful place in the world. Ivan stood up slowly pulling himself up to his full height. He looked down on Xenia and the look in his eyes was one of resolve and determination. Xenia looked up and gave him a soft smile, "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes" Ivan answered firmly leaving no doubt that he had made up his mind.

Boris left Alfred's side and sat tall and proudly next to Ivan and nosed his hand. Ivan looked down at the wolf in his eyebrows raised. He had never actually touched the wolf before, he reached out and stroked Boris's furry head. He found the action surprisingly soothing. The wolf looked up at him with his tongue lolling to the side looking for all the world like he was smiling, and for the first time Ivan couldn't help but smile back.

"Come" Xenia snapped, "I will show you what to do. But it must be done by you, and it will not be fast nor will it be easy." Xenia led them to the back of the garden to her small garden shed. The ground around the shed was littered with various pots and aging gardening tools. She disappeared into the tiny shed as she rummaged around banging things and throwing random items like broken pots and as she cursed. Gilbert ducked as a pot nearly hit him in the head and Alfred was clipped by a carelessly flung hand trowel.

"Hey Xenia! Watch what you're doing! You tryin' ta kill us out here?" Gilbert scolded as he caught a another pot that nearly hit him in the head. "Xenia!"

"What?" came Xenia's voice from deep inside the shed.

Gilbert yelled a little louder, "Xenia, I see you're still as organized as ever, do you want a little help?"

"No, I have a system. I'll find them." There was another loud bang, "Ah, found them!" She said triumphantly as she emerged from the shed with her hair poking out of her braid and sticking up in all directions.

"Mama you're as bad with your shed as Alfred is with his storage room." Ivan shook his head. Alfred shot him a look but Ivan shot him a better one, "Don't even try to argue, Arthur told us all about that storage room of yours."

"Vanya, never mind that, hold your hands out." Ivan did so and Xenia frowned, "gloves off Vanya."

"Why?" Ivan questioned stubbornly.

Gilbert's eyes went wide, "Xenia, will this work for him the way it does for us?"

"I think so Gilbert. It's the only way of communicating with the land, it's the best way. Ivan, you have to touch them with your hands." Ivan took off his gloves and shoved them in his pocket ruefully and held his hands out for Xenia. Xenia dumped the contents of a small velvet pouch into his hands.

Ivan looked at her confused, "Seeds?"

"Yes seeds. Sunflower seeds."

"This is your plan? Seeds? What do you want me to do with them?"

"Plant them of course. You must plant these with your bare hands deep in the soil in the places you feel your heart beating the strongest. They are regular seeds in the hands of anyone else, but in your hands they are so much more. As these flowers grow, their roots will go deep and so will your connection to the land."

"Are you sure this will work? It seems…silly." Ivan said as the returned the seeds to the pouch.

"Vanya, it's not silly at all. The land recognizes the hands that work it and the life sown into it by those hands. Why do you think Gilbert and I haven't disappeared?"

"Wait, you mean Gilbert, you garden? And that's why you didn't disappear when you were dissolved?" Alfred asked not really believing it himself.

"Hey don't say it like that, I'm an awesome gardener! HEY!" Gilbert yelled when he noticed Ivan and Alfred laughing at him.

"Sorry Gil, I just can't picture you gardening, it just seems so, so" Alfred's mind was blank all he could see was images of Gilbert, the great Prussian Empire, knee deep in manure.

Xenia grabbed Ivan's shoulder, "Vanya all joking aside, I must warn you the first few times will be very hard on you. It is like open heart surgery of sorts. It is your heart that is disconnected so it is your heart where you will feel it. The seeds of those plants will also remember you; with luck your people will tend the plants and spread their seeds. Every time they do, it will help deepen your connection." She looked at the ground a little afraid to ask the next question, "If you like, we can put the first one here. I have an empty patch we can use. That is, if you feel this old lady is up to taking care of it for you."

Ivan smiled at her, "I would like that mama."

"The first one is the worst for you, come we will drink first." She looked to the others "We will all drink together as both allies and friends."

They all agreed that it was a good idea and headed to the house. They were completely unaware that far away, somewhere near the outskirts of Moscow, the final gears of a new plan quietly slipped into place.

* * *

Ugh I am so bad at this. Thank you readers! I love you all.


	16. Omake crack chapter

I wasn't going to post this, but then I changed my mind. Actually this chapter is like a frickin ghost that wont stop haunting me until I post the damn thing. Sorry if you were looking for a serious update, it's coming, I promise!

Warning: This has almost nothing to do with my story Born Free. I've been writing the story and realized how many chapters Alfred, Gilbert, and Ivan spent at Mother Russia's house, this irritated me. There are heavy references to legalized drugs, cursing, and lots of insight to personal hell that I call my brain. I don't own the movie Grandma's boy, X-box, Call of Duty, anyone from Hetalia, and I don't have rabies…. But I do have Boris the spirit wolf, Xenia (my mother Russia), and am currently in possession of some cheese of questionable freshness.

* * *

"Contract negations."

The author of born free had just finished bashing her head against her keyboard in frustration. For the third time that day, she went over how many chapters were spent at Xenia's house. She grumbled to herself "Some action fic this turned out to be… should'a called it 'Grandma's boy 2'"

She took a sip of her now cold jasmine tea… bleah, and quickly slammed her cup down, sloshing tea all over the keyboard yelling, "That's it! Something's got to be done about this." So she stormed up the trail to Xenia's house and knocked on the door.

No answer, but she could hear giggling from inside the house, "~I can hear your sorry asses in there~ Now open this door you losers!"

No answer, nothing but more giggling from inside…

The author ground her teeth and yelled, "I'm coming in and all of you better have clothing on!" at this she heard a lot of shuffling and thumping. The author rolled her eyes and huffed in disgust. After counting to 3, she pushed open the door yelling, "RAWR what the hell are you guys doing?"

She was immediately met with the strong smell of marijuana. "WTF Are you guys high?"

Ivan was sitting at the table with a half empty bottle of vodka and bloodshot eyes, his coat looked as it has been hastily tugged on and buttoned wrong, no wait, it was inside out! Xenia and Alfred were playing Call of Duty on Xenia's x-box and Gilbert was sitting in front of the computer with all the author's private files for the rest of the story open on the screen.

After surveying the scene the author sneered, "That's it! Get your lazy asses back on the road. You've been sponging off of Xenia for long enough!"

Alfred continued to play the game and whined, "What? I thought we were waiting for Gilbert to get better, right?"

Xenia paused the game and got up to get a drink giggling, "In old country, pot smokes you!"

The author's jaw dropped, "Xenia" she scolded, "A mother Russia joke…seriously? Wait! Don't tell me you're high too!" The author pinched the bridge of her nose, "No no no no. you guys gotta' get outta' here before you ruin my OC."

"Hey relax Author lady. Pot's legal here now." Gilbert said with a slick grin.

"What? I didn't write…"

"Yeah well, we got bored between chapters and …uh… fixed a few things…" Alfred said matter-of-factly grabbing a brownie from the plate on the end table.

"So you legalized pot in MY story?" she looked at Ivan who was spacing out grinning like an idiot. The author let out an exasperated sigh and roared "You can't do that! That's a clear breach of author/character rules!"

That's when the author felt a paw at her hip, she turned to see Boris her spirit wolf holding a piece of paper in his mouth. She took it and read it, turning bright red as she did, "Boris BAD DOG!"

"What is that?" asked Alfred.

"It's his…contract? It states that he requests an unlimited supply of Vodka and a stunt double." She looked at the wolf and back to the paper, "and time and a half pay scale! Dude you're a fucking wolf! I don't have that kind of bread in the budget!"

"Hey how come he gets a stunt double." Gilbert whined.

"He doesn't!" She turned to the Boris "No stunt doubles! I have a half empty bottle of rum at home you can have and that's it!" Her rant was met with the high pitched whine of the wolf as he tried his best puppy dog eyes on her, "and cut that out, or I'll kill you off in the next chapter!"

"Hey Author lady that reminds me, we need to have a word with you." Gilbert demanded.

"What the fuck are you doing in my files anyway? How did you get those?" She stormed towards the computer as Gilbert stood up to stop her.

Ivan cleared his throat, "Author lady, we have a little problem with the plot of the story we wish to discuss with you."

The author cringed; she knew if they had seen the rest of the story that there was probably going to be a mutiny on her hands, but then she remembered she had author's rights and this was her fucking story. "Don't you guys start with me! I'm still writing the next chapter, you know. I can easily make it even more… unpleasant." She said with a wicked grin.

"What are these notations about our untimely deaths?" Gilbert said peering into the computer screen. "I though you said you weren't that kind of writer, you said you were all not into bloodshed and mental trauma!"

"Oh those, well you see I was in a really bad mood that day. I kept those because I wasn't sure which way to go for the ending so I have a few possibilities written… and mental trauma sells! Readers like that shit!"

Gilbert sighed,"Author lady you need ta' chill, all this hiking, bleeding, killing and death it's not good." Gilbert said as Xenia returned from the kitchen with a plate of brownies. Gilbert took one and tossed it to the author. "Have a brownie, and relax a little."

The author sniffed the brownie and frowned, "These are pot brownies, aren't they?"

"In old country, brownies… er… how's that go again?" Xenia said then started to giggle uncontrollably.

The author's eyebrows shot up, "Just how fucking high is she?" But then she realized she really didn't want to know, "Listen you guys! If you guys stay here Mathew is going to catch up to you in about a day and a half. And Alfred, he told me to tell you that if you don't have the money you borrowed off of him, I quote 'No healthcare plan in the world will be enough to remove the hockey stick from your ass, you hoser' end quote."

Alfred blanched, "What? I told him I would get the money in a couple of days! Geeze, so much for brotherly love!"

The author smiled, "I take it that means you don't have the money? Did you spend your brother's money on pot?"

"…"

"So are you leaving before he gets here?" The Author asked hopefully.

"Oh I don't know Mathew's pretty chill, as long as we save him a few brownies, he should be cool" Alfred said as Xenia sat down next to him and they continued their game.

"Well you see author lady." Ivan interjected, "we don't really see the point. We kind of like it here and we know from your files that there's going to be a lot of physical exertion, which we are kind of opposed to." Ivan said as he finished his brownie.

The Author's eye twitched as she felt the tiny death cry of her last nerve, "THAT'S IT! Next chapter Kumajirou bites you all in the ass and you all die a slow deaths from rabies, how bout that?"

"Ha, that's rich. Kumajirou doesn't have rabies." Alfred said, "Xenia, get that guy on the roof."

At that the Author whips out pad and pen and starts to scribble, then puts the pad away and yells, "HE DOES NOW!" In the distance they cold hear the distinct sound of Mathew screaming. The Author cringed having completely forgotten about Mathew, "…and now Mathew has rabies too….I hope you're all happy now."

That's when Xenia's pocket started playing "Get Some" by Lykke Li. She looked at the phone then shouted "All of you out! Now! General Winter is coming over for sexy time and you all need to leave!"

Within seconds they were heading down the hill, and was that.

* * *

Okay now that that's out of the way...on with the rest of the story...until another omake starts to form like an ugly zit.


	17. An unexpected reaction

Ah delays. But never fear, I have not abandoned thee. I want to dedicate this chapter to salenastarzz for her input on this. This chapter looks the way it does mainly because of her input and ideas. Thanks so much hon! If it sucks though that part's all my fault.

* * *

Chapter 15

Unexpected consequences

And drink they did.

They toasted to old friends and to new friends and to the end of war and to the stars beyond. They toasted to dreams of the future…and after while they were down to toasting toilet paper, tinfoil, peanut butter, and tube socks… yes, tube socks. Having polished off a good portion of Xenia's vodka stash they were now thoroughly toasted themselves, so they decided to take the party outside.

They spilled out of the house giggling like idiots as they stumbled over themselves into the garden. There was one empty little patch in a sunny spot that was the perfect place for Ivan's first planting. Boris staggered over to the spot as Ivan pulled out the velvet pouch and fumbled as he tried to fish one of the seeds out of the bag. Alfred and Gilbert were barely managing to hold each other up as they watched Xenia fill a watering can getting a good portion of the water on the ground in the process. Boris sat in front of Ivan looking up at his nation with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and thumped his tail against the ground.

Ivan knelt in the dirt, dug a small hole with his hand and dropped a single seed inside it, then quickly covered it up with dirt. In one fluid move Xenia watered the seed, set down the watering can, and wrapped her strong arms around Ivan. As soon as the water hit the seed, Ivan let out a strangled scream and clutched his chest. Boris who had already put himself in position, already had his forehead pressed up against Ivan's as Ivan lost consciousness.

Gilbert noticed Alfred go stiff for a moment as Xenia gently laid Ivan on the ground; a little green shoot could already be seen poking out of the mud. Gilbert struggled to prop up a now unconscious Alfred, "I guess he still can't handle his liquor." He said as Xenia came over to take a look. With an evil look in his eye Gilbert smiled at Xenia, "Hey Xenia, I got an idea, can you lend me one of your dresses?"

Boris started looking distressed and trotted over to Alfred's side and began licking his hand. Xenia gently nudged Boris out of the way and leaned in to get a good look at Alfred and frowned, he was terribly pale, "No Gilbert, I will not help you dress him up as a woman. Do you have any idea why he just passed out?"

"Well he is pretty drunk, but I can tell by that tone of yours that, that's not the reason and that I'm not going to like the real reason... am I?"

"I think we're in trouble." She said as she pushed Boris away a second time.

Gilbert balked at her expression and glanced nervously at Alfred in his arms, "Mien Gott, I'm afraid to ask why."

"Alfred's not going to be very agreeable when he wakes up. He just had all the land had given him ripped from him. He's not going to be feeling very good and he may even be a little… disorientated." She said as she ran her hand down Alfred's cheek.

Gilbert groaned, "He's going to try to kill us, isn't he?"

"If we're lucky he will have enough sense for us to reason with him; if not, then we're going to have a fight on our hands."

Gilbert laid Alfred on the ground, "Xenia this is bad, do you have any idea how strong this kid is? There's no way we could handle him by ourselves. The only one who would even have a chance against him is Ivan."

"Vanya is in no shape to do anything Gilbert. We're going to have to do what we can and hope for the best." She said as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Al hasn't exactly been stable before this; do you really think he's going to be sensible? He attacked Ivan because he was becoming part of Russia, now he's going to attack us because he's not! That's crazy!"

Xenia put her hands on Gilbert's shoulders, "Shh do you want to wake him? Think about it Gilbert, he's been losing himself since the attack on his country. It's like he and Vanya are two sides of the same coin. He is suffering. You are his friend, yes?"

"Of course I'm his friend, I played a big part in helping the unruly little bastard fight for his right to be a country. I wouldn't have done that if I wasn't… if I didn't believe in him. He's always been…special to me. He's the only one nearly as awesome as me. That's why I'm here now."

Gilbert heard Ivan grunt and noticed the stain of red across Ivan's chest, "Is he going to be okay?"

"His heart has been anchored to the land now. He will be fine but he needs time to heal, he's still in a lot of pain."

Both of them turned when they heard Alfred groan. Boris bounded over to him, but Xenia quickly tackled Boris and whispered harshly, "No Boris if you wake him now it will be bad for all of us!" Boris started to whine and struggle. "Boris! There's nothing you can do for him. You're a Russian spirit! He needs help from his own kind! You know this already!" Boris started to whine louder, but stopped struggling. "Good boy. Now please He needs to stay asleep for as long as possible." Boris sat down hesitantly to indicate he was listening then she turned to Gilbert, "I have a plan. I need you to watch him."

"Oh goody." Gilbert grumbled, "Hey Xenia if I hit him hard enough, he may just stay asleep a little longer. How's that for a plan?"

"Ha Ha, very funny Gilbert." She called over her shoulder as she went off to her shed on the other side of the garden.

"I wasn't joking." Gilbert said but Xenia was already out of earshot.

Alfred started to come around, he felt weird. Like there was darkness all around him. He could hear whispering. Hundreds of voices whispering, accusing voices, plotting voices, dark wicked voices, all muttering things in his ears. It was a little like the ghosts from the orphanage had gotten into his head only these voices were not of pleading hungry children, these voices were shifty, muttering subtle plots and lies. Weaving a tapestry if darkness and deceit. Alfred felt the familiar chill of the old cold war paranoia creep across him like an icy wind. He could only faintly hear the crying of a myriad of animals in the distance but the voices were drowning them out. Something wanted him to listen to the animals, but they felt so very far away. He wanted to see he searched for a way out of the darkness away from the voices. Finally he started to become aware of his surroundings and his eyes snapped open to see Gilbert looking down on him.

Even though his eyes were open everything looked to be shadows, like he was still trapped in the darkness. Gilbert looked nervous. Alfred felt suspicion and distrust clouding his mind like molasses, 'He's hiding something' the voices whispered.

Gilbert jumped back a bit when he saw the look in Alfred's eyes, "Uh hey.." he stammered, "How are you feeling?"

'They're trying to break you.' whispered the voices, 'They're trying to destroy you.' Alfred sat up and clutched his head against the voices but it was no use. Gilbert nervously put a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "Xenia said you wouldn't be feeling like yourself, she went to get something that will help you."

Alfred could feel invading forces, the war, blood, and lies. He could feel the rebels fighting for what they believed in and losing their lives all the same. Heroes made and lost in howling void of war. 'They attacked you without warning' the voices grew louder, 'They are not your friends.' Alfred started to panic, he had to get away. These were the enemies turning his lands into bloody war zones. Alfred looked at Gilbert as if seeing an enemy for the first time Gilbert stood up and took a step back. Boris ran up and stared to lick Alfred's face but Alfred pushed him off violently, "Don't touch me! Stay away! I know what you're really trying to do!"

Boris was knocked off his feet and landed on his side with a yelp. Gilbert felt his temper start to flare, "Hey! Don't take your crazy out on an innocent animal!"

Xenia came running to Gilbert's side, "Alfred, please you have to listen to us. The fear you are feeling was triggered by the loss of connection with this land. It's almost same thing Vanya was going through." Alfred backed away and snarled at her like a cornered animal, "Don't come near me!"

"Alfred, I know you're hurting. Please listen to us! We just want to help you." Xenia saw Alfred's eyes darken, "Please Alfred you have to trust us. We're not going to hurt you."

Alfred clutched his head against the voices, "Go away, or..or I'll kill you."

Gilbert moved in front of Xenia, "Alfred! Stop this now! Don't make me hurt you!"

"Gilbert, no! You'll only make him worse if you try to fight him!" Xenia tried to push Gilbert out of the way.

The hairs on the back of Boris's neck began to rise as he stared bark madly. In Alfred's mind the voices had grown louder. Low voices making dark deals for his best parts, negotiating over his lands emotionlessly. He had to fight or lose everything. He lunged at Gilbert, but something heavy landed on his back. Strong arms wrapped and locked around him. He struggled at first then heard Ivan's pained voice in his ear, "Please Alfred, calm down and listen to your heart before you hurt someone!"

Ivan's emotions flooded him. The voices began to crack and fade like melting ice as the voices of the animals grew louder until the cougars scream was all he could hear. Then the guilt hit him as he felt something wet on his back soaking through his shirt. Ivan silently slid off of him and onto the ground as he clutched his chest which was now bleeding badly. Alfred just stared in shocked silence. He looked around taking stock in the looks of fear on everyone's faces. Alfred as he pieced together that he had threatened and hurt his friends. More waves of guilt flooded him mixing with the lingering effects of the alcohol still in his system making him feel sick. He felt like a monster.

"Vanya!" Xiena cried worriedly as she rushed to his side "Vanya are you okay?" But Ivan had already fallen back into unconsciousness.

Alfred saw the blood on Ivan's chest 'all his fault' kept running through his mind. "I'm so sorry." he whispered.

She turned and gently reached up and put her hands on Alfred's cheeks and looked him in the eyes, "You're okay now? I should have known something like this would happen. I misjudged how strongly you were connected with the Russian lands."

Alfred pulled away, "But, Ivan…"

"Stop! You'll slip into darkness again if you don't keep your mind clear." She stood up and pulled out a bag similar to Ivan's, "Here, take these."

"What are they?"

"Starflower seeds, they are special because they are native to both of our lands. They will help define who you are to the land."

"If I plant these I wont' go crazy again?" He looked at her hopefully.

"Yes… maybe… I'm not sure." She saw the look in Alfred's eyes and quickly corrected, "But I do know they will help you. The land will recognize you as both an ally and the United States. It will help you with the feelings you are dealing with."

Ivan groaned thickly as he started to come around. Xenia helped him sit up he gasped in pain as he moved, "Shit, that was terrible."

"How do you feel?" Xenia asked him.

Ivan thought for a moment letting the new sensations sink in. He could feel the vast land stretching out beneath him, he could feel the mountains and the parts still covered in snow he could feel the growing things in the spring of the warmer areas "It hurts like hell, but I can feel the land again."

"That was the first seed. The rest will not hurt like that. They will hurt less with each planning as more connections are made. The more you plant the more you will feel until you can feel the hearts of the people again." She motioned to Alfred, "Come, help me take him inside. We can talk about the seeds later if you like."

Alfred and Gilbert carried Ivan back into the house. They had no idea that somewhere else in Russia, two men had just come back from their trip to the heart of Africa. Giddy with pride over their success in getting, the last piece, after generations of searching it was finally about be complete. They entered room 3 where the scientists were already eagerly waiting for them. They opened their suitcase and pulled out a carefully wrapped bundle. In it, was a tiny sliver of what looked a bit of porcelain with red marks on it. They laid it down on the table next what looked like a large ivory dagger covered in red markings and a long black gash running down its length. Once the piece and the dagger were close enough, both lit up with an eerie light. The light engulfed the dagger and the piece, shining brightly for a moment then with a sharp wink of light, the two fused together on their own. The humans in the room did not feel the weapons completion, for them nothing had changed, but every single nation on the planet froze as a power the world was not meant to hold anymore, shook them to their cores.

* * *

If you are wondering about Gilbert's comment on helping Alfred during the Revolutionary war check out

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben on wikipedia

Oh and Cougars scream, they don't roar... weird eh?

Please let me know what you think... what you really think.


	18. Pangaea's mistake

Okay I found out that during the time of the dinosaurs, the world had one single land mass, Pangaea. So what happened to Pangaea and what the heck does it have to do with the story... well

it goes like this

* * *

Pangaea's Mistake

Gilbert and Alfred had just moved Ivan into bed when it hit. It was as if a jolt of electricity had just shot through their systems. Each nation looked at the others in stunned silence, but each one knew the others had just felt the same thing. Boris was crying and cowering behind Alfred as Ivan groaned heavily in his sleep. The initial shock left behind very subtle tugging sensation. There was something out there in the distant northwest, the direction of Moscow...something bad.

At that same time, deep in the heart of the remote Russian interior, a polar bear started to snarl. Kumajirou and Mathew were resting in a small meadow when it hit them. Kumajirou tried to shake off the unwanted sensation, as Mathew just stared in the direction of Moscow. Just like all the others, they had no idea what has just happened. But he could feel that whatever it was, it wasn't good. It felt as if something had been brought together. He thought back to his conversation with his brother, Juan. 'They are digging'. Was this what they were up to?

Kumajirou got up and began tugging at their supplies. "What is it Kuma? Is Alfred close?"

Kumajirou just looked at Mathew and gave a plaintive whine. The rest of the day the polar bear pushed on a little faster than normal which worried Mathew even more than he was before. 'Please don't do anything stupid Al' he muttered to himself as they hurried on their way.

…

No one in Moscow had any idea what kind of power they had just reawakened. André Michaovich wouldn't have cared anyway. He couldn't contain himself as he sat at his desk and examined his new prize carefully. He was absolutely giddy that fate and fortune had finally shown on him. There was no doubt in his mind that what he held in his hands was something very powerful and now it was complete. Generations research and scouting the globe for the pieces and finally, just when he needed it the most, it was his. He caressed the bone dagger. It was large and solid, smooth yet incredibly sharp with crimson characters scrawled across it that seemed to almost glow. Though they didn't know much about the dagger, they could tell it was terribly old and powerful, but they didn't know how old, or who made it, or why. But to André those were just minor details, in his mind he was sure that this dagger was his key to conquering the world.

If they had known that it was a weapon that should have never been created, forged by a spirit that had long since left this earth, then maybe they wouldn't have been so eager to find the pieces scattered across the globe. André might have thought twice about his plans if he knew that the object that had just pinned all his lofty hopes and dreams was… Pangaea's mistake.

…

When the world was first born and began its dance around the sun, it was long before the first human ever stood on two legs. At that time, there was one single land mass, Pangaea. Pangaea was ruled by a spirit that had no true form. Time for her was meaningless as millions of years slipped past her like clouds on a summer day. For millions of years she watched over an empty land devoid of life. Her only companions were the sea, the stars, the moon, and the sun; and after a very long time the creatures of the sea that passed by her shores.

She grew fascinated by the sea and envied it, it was full of life unlike her world. With each passing eon the life grew larger, stranger, and more fascinating to Pangaea. Finally she decided she had, had enough. So she smiled to the sea and began to sing. It was a special song she had woven herself, a song of creation. When she sang it, plants began to burst from the barren ground and animals of all kinds came from the sea. They came to her slowly adapting and changing as they were drawn to her by her song and the new world she offered them. She sang again and again bringing forth more creatures from the sea. She slowly turned her barren, lonely world into a vibrant carpet of living things.

But no matter how many times she sang, her loneliness was still not quelled. It began to consume her, no matter how many animals she managed to coax from the sea, none of them were like her. She was still alone. Eventually she made the mistake of pouring that sadness into her song. And when she did, something different came forth.

She did not understand this new creature. It seemed to be only a darkness that brought despair and death to everything it touched. It followed Pangaea wherever she went and it frightened her to no end. To top it off, it did not die like the other creatures, it was immortal like herself. She was heartbroken at the thought, finally something that was like her and it was this pitiful beast. She felt its agony and sadness and, in her own arrogance, decided it needed to be destroyed.

She used the old magic to extract a piece of herself and forged it into a weapon, then she wrote on it the Song of Creation backwards, the letters blazed red against the gleaming bone colored weapon. It was this she used to slay the creature and end its pain. But when its heart stopped beating, she realized the terrible mistake she had made. It was then she realized that it was the sea itself that now lay dead at her feet. It had been drawn from its home by the sadness in her voice. But since it was unable to adapt to the land, it was constantly dieing yet its immortality kept its heart beating, twisting it as it made its desperate attempt to reach out to her.

Upon its last breath, the earth was thrown completely out of balance and ground to a halt for a single solitary moment before revolting violently. Volcanoes erupted filling the sky with fire and smoke, earthquakes shook violently ripping the land apart, boiling the sea. Many of the creatures, both on the land and in the sea, died by the millions. Having set in motion her own undoing, Pangaea fell. She became one with the land as it as rent into and the pieces. Eventually, the world settled as the pieces of land that were once the vast Pangaea, slowly slipped further and further apart.

The balance had been restored at a horrible price. Both Pangaea and the sea were gone, and the earth would never see the likes of them and their power ever again. The land masses continued to drift further and further apart. The song of creation and the weapon Pangaea had used were lost to rumors and legends. But the earth danced on.

…

Andre examined the blade noticing the long black gash down its side, not knowing that it was a reminder of its one and only use so far. All André knew was that he could feel power in this weapon, he was sure of it. This was the power he was looking for, the power to stop a nation's heart, for good.

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Short chapter is short. I had a really hard time with this one I really hope it's okay. Thank you for the time you've spent with me on this. The next chapter will be out soon. They are leaving Xenia's place but they're heading into a war zone.

please let me know what you think, and if you see flaws, you'd be my friend by pointing them out for me. THANKS!


	19. Cougar Country

Please, let me know if it sucks. I've been struggling with the OC's a lot. This chapter got too big so I had to break it up. The next chapter will be out quickly.

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Cougar Country

Ivan woke up slowly, becoming aware of things one at a time, as the world fell into place around him. The strange tugging sensation that seemed to be coming from the direction of his capitol, Gilbert and Xenia talking hurriedly in the kitchen, the birds outside in the garden, the feel of the sun streaming though the window, the lead weight settled on his chest….huh?

Ivan opened his eyes and was met with a furry face staring back at him. With an angry yell Ivan flailed, throwing Boris off of him. The wolf landed on the floor and stared up at him indignantly. "Don't look at me like that you don't even belong in the house never mind in the same bed with me!" Ivan scolded.

Boris flattened his ears and gave a short snort as he skulked off to the kitchen to bug Xenia for some breakfast.

"Good morning Vanya, how are you feeling?" asked Xenia as Ivan emerged from the spare room.

"I feel fine now." Ivan looked around noticing someone was missing, "Where's Alfred?"

Gilbert was leaning back in his chair looking bored, "He said he was going to try to contact his father."

Ivan wondered aloud, "But he knows we can't use the phones for international calls it would be traced and we would be found."

Gilbert laughed, "Yeah, that's the most interesting part, he said he said he didn't need a phone. His crazy never ceases to amaze me."

Ivan gritted his teeth, "He's going to try that Native American thing again? Why did you just let him go by himself?"

Gilbert slammed his cup on the table a little harder than he intended, "I tried to tell him it wasn't a good idea, but he insisted on going alone!"

Ivan didn't like this plan, he was going to have to have a talk with Alfred about going off on his own like this, "I will go look for him."

"If you follow him, he's not going to be happy to see you. He kept going on about how he didn't want anything or anyone to ruin his concentration. He was really serious about it too." Gilbert warned.

Ivan shook his head, "I don't care how 'unhappy' he gets. Last time he did this, he drew those circles with his own blood. He was a mess after contacting his father. He said he made contact with his animal spirit but it looked like all it did was attack him. We can't afford any more delays. I can feel something in Moscow. That reminds me, Gilbert have you heard from your men?"

Gilbert cringed, "Yeah, while you were out I got a call, something big has happened at the labs. There's been a huge breakthrough that has all the higher-ups really excited. My men were unable to find out what it was, but they say Andrey himself came down to see it. He was really happy about whatever it is."

Ivan sighed disgustedly, "That's not good."

Xenia stared at the cup of tea in her hands, "Whatever the humans in Moscow are up to, we can all feel it. Gilbert, Alfred, and I can feel it too; even Boris reacted when it started."

Ivan's eyebrows rose in surprise, "Gilbert is this true?"

Gilbert nodded grimly, "Whatever it is, it has something to do with us, all of us."

Ivan's eyes widened, this was bad. Something that affects nations in his capitol, apparently now in Andrey's hands, not good at all, "All the more reason why we can't afford any more delays. I'm going to go look for Alfred. We need to be on our way. I have a terrible feeling about what it is in Moscow and we need to get out of the country as fast as possible."

"Ivan, I know you're worried, but his father might know what this is, and if he does, maybe we can do something about it before the humans use whatever it is." Gilbert insisted.

Ivan's anger flared, "Nyet, we have to go, we can't stay. Whatever it is, Andrey is probably planning to use it on Alfred. Why else would he have ordered him brought to the country? I did not take these risks just so Andrey could get what he wants. I am going to get Alfred, and you," he pointed to Gilbert, "need to be ready to go when I come back."

…

On the apex of the next hill, Alfred laid back against the flat stone decorated with his own blood. He had been trying for hours to contact his father. He had even planted some of the seeds Xenia had given him. When he planted them it felt so good, so much more like himself again. It was as if their tiny roots stretched all they way across the Bering Strait. He looked at the tiny white flowers with their faces turned towards the sun. What was he doing wrong? He tried so many ways, in different spots. When all else failed he even tried drawing the circles in blood again. His frustration mounting, he covered his eyes with his good arm as he tried to figure out what was missing. The air was still damp and chilly but the warm sun offered a little comfort from it. Maybe something was wrong with his father, maybe he should have tried to contact Mathew instead, he grunted angrily as he fisted his hair in confusion. His mind and body were too exhausted to try that now. It was then he began to notice the scent of the star flowers that seemed be lulling him to sleep. They really had a nice smell to them, clean and fresh like an arctic spring….

Alfred didn't know how long he laid there before he opened his eyes again. But when he did, he found himself standing on a sun drenched dirt road running though a vast wheat field, that stretched endlessly in all directions. An old post fence lined the road following into what seemed like the end of the world. The amber wheat waved in the gentle breeze, like the waves on a vast golden sea. But Alfred could feel that something was watching him. "Who's there?", He shouted as he watched something emerge from the wheat on the other side of the road.

It was a great white wolf with dark eyes that stared at him. The creature just stood there breathing heavily as fat drops of blood leaked from its many wounds and splattered against the dusty ground. It just stood and stared, then suddenly it seemed to melt back into the golden field of wheat, disappearing completely, leaving Alfred to wonder what is it was.

He started at the spot where the wolf vanished until something like a furry cannonball hit him from behind and clung to his shoulders, "Got ya!" squeaked the voice of what sounded like a child.

Alfred quickly grabbed it and pealed it off of him, he looked at the creature he now had in his hands, a tiny cougar cub. She stared back at him looking very pleased with herself. His frustration reached it's peak as he looked down at the animal, "Where the hell have you been!"

"Hey don't you yell at me. It's not my fault! You're the one who was all becoming one with Russia and crap. It was like you couldn't hear me at all!" the cub said as she struggled in Alfred's grip, "Now put me down or I'll give you another spirit scar across yer ass!"

Alfred didn't let go, this was supposed to be his spirit guide… really? "Why are you so tiny?" he demanded.

The cub finally wrenched herself from Alfred's grasp and dropped to the ground landing neatly, "I'm tiny because when I took you on, I was reborn… sort of. Now we have to grow together. But it looks like the only growing you're gonna' do is out, fatty."

"Fat jokes, nice. So my great protector is just a snot nosed cub, is this my dad's idea of a joke?" Alfred huffed as he ran his hand through his hair.

The cub growled, "It's not a joke. I'm the best there is! I'm awesome, and stealthy and really strong! And I'll be a lot stronger when I'm full grown"

"Which will be when?"

"Soon enough, I can take on adult form for a little bit but it's really tiring."

"Great, you do realize I need you now, right?" Alfred snapped sarcastically and turned his back on the cub, "Out of all the animals, why you?"

"Out of all the animals? You do realize, I know what you're thinking, don't you! You're just mad because I'm not birdie!" She bristled, "Well I'm not that overgrown turkey. She couldn't do it so you got me! I stepped forward and took you on. I'm the one who decided to sacrifice myself and be reborn like this to help you!"

Alfred turned looked at her, she really did look upset, cute, but really upset, "Aww, look, I'm sorry. I've been just been through a lot."

Cougar sat with her back turned to Alfred still angry, "Don't you think, I already know that. The least you could do is thank me or make a statue to my great awesomeness or something."

"You sound like Prussia." Alfred said as the cub snarled, which sounded ridiculous coming from such a small animal, "Hey, I said I was sorry. Listen, I'm glad you're here and all I just don't understand any of this. So can you just, you know… guide me."

The cub turned her head and looked at Alfred. She seemed older now than before, "What do you want to know?"

"Why can't I contact my father for one, and how about where are we, and oh yeah are you going to do what Kuma did?"

The cub looked down at her paws, "You mean take physical form?"

"IS that what he did?"

She nodded her furry head but did not meet Alfred's eyes, "I have to grow a bit more before I can do something like that. We can only do that once and if we're killed we can't come back again. That's why I'm here instead of Birdie."

"What do you mean by that?"

Cougar walked over to Alfred and wound her tiny form around Alfred's legs, "Birdie will explain it to you, I'm taking you to see her."

"Where are we?" Alfred asked as the cub began to stalk something in the road.

Cougar suddenly pounced on the bug on the ground, trapping it under her over-sized paws, "You should be able to figure that out. This is your place, you know like inside your heart blah blah blah. I think you get the point." She said as she opened her paws and the bug flew away.

Alfred smacked his forehead with his palm, "Oh you're a real fountain of wisdom, aren't you."

"Piss off, I wouldn't be a cub right now if you'd come to us sooner."

"Well excuse me for not getting the memo, it's not like I asked for any of this."

Then Cougar twined herself around Alfred's legs looked up at her nation calmly. "Let's go already, the turkey is just down the road a bit, she's waiting for us, and she's in a bad mood... as usual...cranky ole feather duster." Alfred heard the cub mutter as she started down the road.

Alfred and the cub walked in silence side by side, her presence seemed to make all of his problems melt away into trivial stones along the long path of life. They had no destination, no schedule, just two beings enjoying a journey together. It felt like the old days when he was a child traveling with Tunwicu. They traveled for a while like that as Alfred's mind slowly felt clearer and clearer.

Cougar suddenly stopped walking and broke the silence with a small 'Waaaaow' "Hey America, watch this.", she said as she dove into the field of grain. Alfred could see the grain moving like a wave making a bee line for a figure perched on one of the fence posts. Suddenly she exploded from the field leaping at the dark figure sitting on a fence post. With a yowl she yelled "Got ya, Birdie!" ...and missed entirely, as the great creature spread it's great wings and hopped into the air to avoid getting tackled. As it did so, Alfred recognized her immediately.

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Again let me know what you think I had to cut this chapter in half so the other half is actually close to done.


	20. Eagle's story

Please, let me know if it sucks. I've been struggling with the OC's a lot. This chapter got too big so I had to break it up. The next chapter will be out quickly.

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Eagle's story

Cougar took a mouth-full of dirt on her, less than heroic, landing, as the bald eagle flapped her wings and screeched angrily at her. Alfred could hear the voice of the eagle as she began to stuffily read Cougar the riot act, "Graceless, disrespectful little…" As she continued Alfred immediately noticed something about her voice. He felt like he'd heard it before. He walked up and grabbed Cougar, who was now half way up the fence post that the eagle was perched on, attempting to swat at the bird with her paws. "Dude, I just wanna play." Cougar whined as she squirmed to get free.

Alfred couldn't help but smile at her. She was so cute, even when she was being a total pest. "Didn't you bring me here to talk to her?" he asked as the cub stilled and looked up at him.

"Yeah, okay already, just put me down!" Alfred let the cub jump out of his arms where she sat at his feet.

Alfred looked at the proud bird trying to straighten out her ruffled feathers. She was enormous, at lest twice the size of a real bald eagle. Suddenly she fixed him with a bright eye and stared at him for a few moments before he heard her speak. "America", she said, "I have bad news."

All the peace he had been feeling on his walk with Cougar seemed to immediately shatter, replaced by a prickling sense of dread, "About?"

The eagle looked away to the distant horizon before meeting his eyes again, "America, something has happened to your father." She stated gravely. Alfred felt his heart drop at her words; he just numbly nodded for her to continue. "The reservation was attacked. Tate took on physical form to protect your father and was mortally wounded. He lies now between the boundaries of life and death."

Alfred felt his knees to go weak; the Russian forces had made it that far into the interior? Just how bad was the war going for him? His mind flashed to Ivan and very thing they had just went through. How was it possible to be in a war like this with someone he didn't hate. He felt so alone and conflicted, nothing felt right. Questions popped into his head as fast as his emotions, "Tate? You mean his wolf spirit? Is my dad okay? Did they get control of his land?"

Cougar quickly jumped onto Alfred's shoulders and began to rub her furry head against his cheek. Alfred absentmindedly grabbed her and cradled her against his chest. She settled herself in his arms quietly. It was then he understood why his brother carried around Kumajirou all the time; it felt so good to have an anchor to hang onto. Her small warm furry body felt like a shining star he could hold in his arms.

The eagle quickly insisted, "Your father will be okay, he knows the old magic of the land so he will not vanish. Thanks to Tate, he did not suffer a death which would have been devastating to his people."

"Tate, is that the wounded wolf I saw before?" He asked as cougar made a weak little noise and snuggled closer.

"Yes, he wanted to show your father that you are okay. He was able to do that much, but he is about to pass from the living world. Your father is, understandably, very upset."

Alfred didn't know what to say for a few moments. His father was about to lose his spirit animal and already lost his lands to the Russians. "I'm still a nation, right? I haven't, you know… lost. Have I?"

She looked up at him staring "No America, as long as your people are fighting, and you remain sure of yourself, you have not lost."

Cougar squeaked as Alfred's frustration flared, "But that's the problem! I'm not sure of anything! I don't know which direction to go in. There's something here in Russia, me and the other nations all felt it. If I even make it back, the war will go on as long as Mikhaylovich is still in power! I want to go home, back to my own land. I feel like I'm losing myself here, but I don't know if going back is the answer."

"You already know which way you're going, you just haven't admitted to yourself yet."

"…. that's really not helpful at all, thanks." Alfred shot sarcastically and ran his free hand through his hair in frustration, "Who is Boris, why is he here?"

"You mean the Russian wolf spirit?" Alfred nodded at her, "You asked him to come. He felt your desire to help Russia. That spirit came to help reconnect Russia with the land and heal their wounded hearts."

Alfred pretended to understand before firing off his most important question. "I need to know what's going on in Moscow, do you know what's happened there?"

"We have felt it too, the strong pull to the west where something has awoken."

"Yeah, it's something big isn't it?

"We do not know what old magic has been gathered in Russia's capitol, but whatever it is, it is much older than us. The humans have found something they should have left alone. We feel that terrible power, no nation or spirit will be able to rest once it is unleashed."

"So it's up to us nations to stop it then?"

The eagle let out an unhappy sounding chirp, "If we could remember what it was, I could answer that."

"I'm the hero. If there's an unspeakable evil threatening the world, do you really think I would be able to just run away?"

With a loud screech, the eagle spoke only now her voice wavering with fear, "We have all felt it, long ago when the digging first started. All we know is that it is a danger to us all. Onsila, do not go forward so recklessly!"

Alfred was speechless as the gears clicked into place. The eagle let out another screech as she opened her huge wings. "This magic isn't like ours. This magic is deeper and older, I fear you may risk more than just losing a war Onsila." She hopped onto Alfred's shoulder and leaned in against him. "We are afraid. I am afraid! I don't want to lose you."

Alfred felt like he was about to break as the memories of his most distant past flooded his mind, "… who… are you, Tunwicu?"

"Yes America, I was the one who protected you. Back when our magic was stronger we were able to take human form. I took human form and took you away so your father would give up looking for a way to kill you."

Alfred was stunned, he just couldn't believe it. Cougar shifted in his arms and gave out a little squeak,"America... you okay?"

Alfred took a few moments to process the information before the questions started surfacing, "What happened? If you were still alive, then why didn't you tell me? Do you know what I went through after you died!"

Eagle hopped onto Alfred's shoulder "When Oyate killed me, he broke my power. When I finally gained the strength again to find you, you were unable to hear my voice. Your heart had been closed to the old ways." The Eagle explained.

"Oh," Alfred said as he ran his hand down the eagle's broad back, trying to resist the urge to grab her and hug her tightly. "I can't believe it's really you, I missed you."

Eagle just spread her enormous wings and wrapped around him gently he voice soothing and gentle but strong. "When I look at you all I see is the child I love cared for. I cannot trust so easily, I fear for you too much. You needed more than concern and worry you needed one who was more, independent." She added bitterly. "But I will always be with you. You are the only nation I will ever have under my wings."

Alfred stroked the smooth broad feathers. "Well that explains a few things."

"My only wish is that I could have been a real mother to you."

"You are as close to a mother as any of our kind will ever know. Tunwicu. Thank you."

Alfred could hear Cougar's plaintive squeak, "America!"

But Alfred had already drifted away from that place, slowly he could feel himself coming back. He cracked open his eyes only to see a very angry looking Ivan staring down at him. And Alfred knew, he was going to be even less happy to hear that they were not going to China anymore.

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Again let me know what you think I had to cut this chapter in half so the other half is actually close to done.


	21. On The Road At Last

Sooo yeah... what was that... a one year break. uh... sorry guys! But I'm back! hope you enjoy the next installment.

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On the Road Again

Ivan searched for the better part of an hour and still found no sign of Alfred. He began to mutter a long string of very foul words under his breath that grew steadily louder each passing moment as his frustration neared its peak. He felt the telltale vibration in his pocket he knew without looking who it was, reluctantly he answered the phone to a grim sounding Gilbert on the other end, "They've made it to the old hideout. We need to move soon."

Ivan's sucked in a breath, that was not what he needed to hear right now, "Well we both knew it was only a matter of time, but I was hoping it would have taken them longer to find our trail."

"We're all packed and ready to go as soon as you get back. Did you burgerbrains yet?"

Ivan let out a frustrated huff, "Niet." he said as he climbed the hill and noticed Alfred's pack just over the next ridge, "Wait, I think I found him. I'll be back as soon as I beat some sense into him."

"Got it."

Ivan shouted to Alfred, but didn't get answer. He snorted thinking darkly, 'he's probably asleep', as he climbed the ridge, mumbling even more curses under his breath. That's when he caught a whiff of something on the air, something familiar that made his blood run cold. It was the unmistakable scent of blood. He made it over the ridge to find what looked like a scene from a horror movie, the rocks were smeared with red blood darkening in the sun. Alfred was in the middle, on the ground with his head surrounded by star flowers, he too was smeared with crimson. Ivan had to remind himself that nations didn't die as he frowned and approached Alfred calling to him again and still getting no reaction. At first he tried nudging him with his foot, but Alfred remained still as death. He knelt down to get a closer look and felt his throat go dry. He didn't want to admit it, but his feelings for Alfred had been growing stronger, so being this close to him made Ivan's heart ache. He pulled off his glove and touched Alfred's cheek. To his dismay, he found it cold as ice, his frown deepened even more; here he was trying to save Alfred while Alfred seemed hell bent on doing nothing but causing them further delays. Falling sleep out in the open, risking both his health and his body, not to mention making himself a target to any one or thing that happened by, no this had to stop. Alfred will learn to be more careful, even if Ivan had to beat the message into him!

Alfred stirred slightly under Ivan's touch and tired blue eyes finally slid open only to meet Ivan's hardened stare. Alfred knew he was in for it and gave Ivan a nervous smile, "Huh. Morning Ivan, how are you feeling?"

Ivan's expression darkened even more as he looked down upon Alfred," I was feeling pretty good actually until I learned that a certain idiot decided to go mountain climbing, then bled all over my mountains, and fell asleep out in the cold risking everything we've done for him in order to save his ass." Ivan spat sarcastically.

Alfred quickly tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness hit him and held his head wincing, "I was trying to contact my father! You know, so we could find out what the hell your people are doing in Moscow right now! And it's just a scratch. It's already starting to heal." He said as he looked at the cut that was still bleeding, "…well sort of anyway."

"So after all this," Ivan motioned frustratedly to the bloody markings on the ground, "did it work?"

"Um… well, not really. My dad's lands were attacked. I won't be able to reach him for a while."

Ivan was beside himself; it took everything he had not to lose it completely. "So after all this you still know nothing! Alfred, Gilbert had just informed me that they have already found my hideout in the mountains! It's only a matter of time before they track us here. We have no more time to waste on your crazy ideas, we have to go NOW!" he yelled.

But Alfred just sat there, his expression changing to a calm determination that only served to incense Ivan even further, "Ivan we need to talk."

Ivan grabbed the front of Alfred's shirt and pulled him up, "No! I can tell by that tone you are going to say something stupid! No talking! When you talk plans change, we are running out of time!"

Alfred grasped Ivan's arm gently. It wasn't like Ivan to lose his cool like this; Alfred couldn't help but wonder if this was out of just anger… or something more, "Ivan listen to me. They're going to be on our trail they probably know you're just trying to escape the country with me, so why don't we head in a slightly different direction and throw them off?"

Ivan thought it over for a moment before grudgingly nodding for him to continue, "I'm listening."

Alfred took a deep breath and continued, "Let's go get the black stars and Michaovich and end their hold on your country once and for all!"

Ivan stared at him in silent shock for a few moments and shook his head in horror. He could tell that Alfred had already made up his mind; that all too familiar stubborn look on his face said it all. "NIET! That is a horrible idea. We would be playing right into Michaovich's hands! Whatever he has, it is something he's planning to use on you! That's why he ordered that you were to be captured and brought here to Russia! Do you have any idea what will happen if we just walk in there… any idea what they would do to you!" Ivan said jerking his arm from Alfred's grasp.

"But we're nations! We can handle anything!" Alfred insisted excitedly, "They won't know that hit 'em!"

Ivan just shook his head in disbelief, "Alfred, you don't understand anything. Don't take their deaths so lightly. You've never suffered a death; you have no idea what it's like!"

"Ivan, I'm not. It's just… this cycle of hardship and unrest isn't going to end unless we do something to end it. Think about it Ivan. You could finally be rid of the Black Stars, you'll be free." Alfred insisted searching Ivan's for any glimmer of hope.

Ivan stared in stunned silence; for the first time he tried to picture what his life would actually be like without the shadow of the black stars haunting him. He looked back at Alfred who was still staring at him hopefully. That look in Alfred's eyes never failed to inspire and torment Ivan, stirring the desire to protect him even more. But protect him how? How long could they keep running from this and hope to get away? If Michaovich did have something powerful enough to have an effect on nations then maybe running wasn't the best option. Maybe there was still time to stop him before whatever it was, was complete.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a freight train slowly scudding along the tracks about a quarter mile from the mountain. The two of them quickly scrambled into the bushes and peeked out to watch it pass. Both relaxed a bit as the freight train lumbered across the landscape, snaking from the grove of dense trees, one car at a time slowly winding away down the tracks only to disappear back into the forest. They were about to move from their hiding spot, when the scene began to twist. Each one felt the other tense as they noticed jeeps loaded with heavily armed soldiers, emerged from the grove of trees, flanking the train. After a few more innocent looking cargo trailers, heavily loaded flatbeds appeared from the brush, they creaked and groaned under the weight of their cargo of rocket launchers, tanks, and other heavy artillery.

As the two nations sat stone still, the procession continued. Then the last few cars emerged from the brush, cattle cars. Both Alfred and Ivan watched in silence as car after car emerged. Both of them knowing full well that they were not transporting livestock the telltale silhouettes from the light shining thorough the car's slats outlined the cargo within, people. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were probably the families of those who had dared oppose Micahovich.

The waves of anger coming off of Ivan were nearly tangible. Alfred sighed and shook his head before turning to Ivan, "See Ivan? This won't end by us running and hiding. We can stop this, I know we can, I can feel it."

Ivan did not want to admit it but Alfred was right. His fatalistic bravado and naivety made him both endearing as much as danger to himself and others, but it was also what drew Ivan to Alfred now more than ever before. He couldn't help but get swept up in the whirlwind of chaos that was Alfred. Alfred beamed at him his eyes full of excitement and promise. Ivan knew there was no hope of getting him to change his mind now, but did he even want it changed anymore? He found himself wondering if maybe, possibly… he leaned closer to Alfred…

Alfred stood up suddenly, startling Ivan, "Пойдем Ваня что вы скажете!?" (Come on Ivan what do you say) Alfred offered Ivan his hand to help him up, "вместе мы сможем получить вашу страну!" ( Together we'll take back your country!)

Ivan's eyes widened as he looked up at Alfred speaking Russian again, there was a twinge of fear for Alfred but a dark little part of him had to admit, the words sounded beautiful coming from the younger nation. It made his heart skip a beat at the thought of him and Alfred fighting side by side together. He took Alfred's hand and stood, "Yes, together then."

They made it back to Xenia's house where Gilbert was working on a beat up old truck. Xenia tutted and fussed over Alfred while she bandaged his arm. She grumbled at him in Russian and he apologized in Russian back which only made her fuss more.

Ivan slid up to Xenia when the others were busy, "Mama, Alfred he's…"

"I know Ivan." She said her tone hushed, "He can't even tell when he's speaking in Russian anymore. The star flowers are helping him stabilize his emotions but they're also putting him in touch with our land. So much of his land now is under Russian control, I'm afraid it can't be helped. Just keep an eye on him, he's going to need you Vanya." She whispered as she watched Alfred, chatting with Gilbert, concern flickering in her eyes.

The truck turned out to be their transportation, Xenia managed to get from a local farmer. Though in poor shape but it appeared serviceable enough to at least get them to the next town. Ivan explained the change of plans to Gilbert as they packed the truck. "This sounds like a bad idea Ivan. It's so bad it sounds like something Alfred would come up with." Gilbert muttered.

Ivan couldn't help but smile, "Yes it is a terrible idea, isn't it."

Xenia came out with the last of the supplies for them. They had food, extra gas, and a few weapons she managed to scrounge for them. "In the next town there are a fair amount of rebels you will be able to rely on, but be careful. The people are desperate and the reward for both of you is very high." She turned to Alfred first and fixed his collar in a motherly fashion and put her hand on his chest, "Take care of yourself Alfred. No matter what you do things are going to be a struggle for you, but I know you can handle it."

Alfred just shot her one of his star studded smiles and nodded, "Don't worry about me and I'll take care of Vanya for ya."

Xenia gave him a warm smile, "Thank you Alfred."

She turned to Gilbert and hugged Gilbert tightly, "No more crashes. I do not want to see your sorry ass back here in need of patching up again, do you hear me?"

"Xenia, come on I know you just love seeing my sexy body." He laughed as Xenia smacked him on the head.

She bent down to pet Boris, "I know you will take care of them for me won't you Boris?" Boris responded by licking her face he whined a bit as if saying goodbye to her and jumped into the back of the truck.

She turned to Ivan last and smiled at him warmly, "Vanya, make sure to plant the seeds like I told you to and be careful."

"I will mama, I promise." Ivan replied taking her motherly chiding with a smile of his own. He had to admit he was thankful for the time he had spent at the cottage; he didn't realize how much he had missed her.

They boarded the cranky old truck and waved goodbye to Xenia, with Boris and Alfred in the back as they left in a cloud of dust kicked up by the tires.

It was a two day drive to the next town, and the road was rough and studded with holes, some of which seemed to be the same size as the truck. Every time the truck would lurch again shifting the supplies that threatened to burry Alfred and Boris, Alfred found himself almost longing for when they traveled by foot.

It was around the beginning of the second day when things began to change. A silence began to overtake them as they neared to the town; the idyllic Russian country side had taken on a bleaker more sinister look. The sky became darker, a muddy gray blue color with the scent of ash floating on the breeze as the plumes of smoke rose from the horizon. They watched with foreboding as filthy black smudge in the sky rose from the direction they were heading in. Ivan felt his tension rising with it as he watched it grow steadily thicker and more ominous. Alfred's attention was now turned to Boris who whined as he stared at it. The wolf's ears pulled back as he let out the high pitched keening noise.

* * *

The next chapter will be a bit more action and drama. I hope you're enjoying this and I will have the next chapter up ... a weee bit sooner than this one.


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